Accounting research and teaching in Scotland

There is a commonly held belief in higher education that in order to be a good teacher it is necessary to be an active researcher. There is little evidence to support this belief, and none that relates directly to accounting. In an attempt to find out whether the belief is generally accepted by academic accountants, a survey was conducted among full-time accounting educators are firmly of the opinion that research has a beneficial effect on teaching, and that an involvement in it improves their teaching performance.The main reasons why educators support this view are: (1) it provides additional lecture and tutorial material; (2) it keeps them up to date; and (3) it gives them a sense of self-fulfilment. Very few educators believe that research impairs their teaching performance, although some admit that it can reduce the amount of time given to class preparation. When asked to respond to some general preceptions about the link between research and teaching, a high proportion of educators (irrespective of whethther they worked in central institutions - i.e. tritiary-level institutions funded centrally from the Scottish Office Education Department rather than locally- or universities) firmly believe that there is a close relationship. As might be expected, active researchers in both central institutions and universities tended to support the believe much more strongly than those not engaged in research.