Skip to main content
DORAS
DCU Online Research Access Service
Login (DCU Staff Only)
An exploration of the study engagement of trainee accountants in Ireland

McGroary, Caroline ORCID: 0000-0002-1122-7767 (2021) An exploration of the study engagement of trainee accountants in Ireland. PhD thesis, Dublin City University.

Full text available as:

[img]
Preview
PDF - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader
4MB

Abstract

While the concept of study engagement has been the focus of much research in the higher education literature, it has received little attention in professional education research. To address this gap, this research investigates the study engagement of trainee accountants preparing for the qualifying exams of a professional accountancy body (PAB). The study applies the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory and explores, firstly, the mediating role of behavioural, cognitive and affective study engagement in the relationship between study resources (e.g. effective teaching practices), personal resources (academic self-efficacy), demands (work exhaustion) and the outcome variable of exam performance. Secondly, the moderating role of study resources in the relationship between personal resources, demands and study engagement is explored. The study adopted a mixed methods research design, with a dominant quantitative approach. Firstly, structural equation modelling was used to test the study hypotheses, based on a sample of 1,201 respondents. Secondly, interviews were undertaken to provide supplementary insights to the quantitative findings. The results reveal that study engagement is a mediating variable in the motivational process between resources, demands and exam performance. Furthermore, some support was found for the propositions that: 1) resources (personal and study) positively influence the motivational process leading to study engagement and exam performance, and 2) demands negatively influence this process. Additionally, there was limited evidence regarding the moderating role of study resources in the relationship between personal resources, demands and study engagement. From a theoretical perspective, the use of JD-R theory to explore resources and demands from different domains (work and study) is a notable contribution of this research. From a conceptual perspective, the use of a multidimensional definition of engagement is novel and significant. The practical implications of the findings for professional accounting education are also considered in the thesis and directions for future research are outlined.

Item Type:Thesis (PhD)
Date of Award:November 2021
Refereed:No
Supervisor(s):Flood, Barbara and Freeney, Yseult
Subjects:Business > Accounting
Social Sciences > Education
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > DCU Business School
Use License:This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. View License
ID Code:26067
Deposited On:27 Oct 2021 14:51 by Barbara Flood . Last Modified 27 Oct 2021 14:55

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Archive Staff Only: edit this record

Altmetric
- Altmetric
+ Altmetric
  • Student Email
  • Staff Email
  • Student Apps
  • Staff Apps
  • Loop
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Contact Us