Web conferencing-based tutorials: student perceptions thereof and the effect on academic performance in accounting education

ABSTRACT

This study explores undergraduate accounting students’ perceptions of web conferencing-based tutorials, in a developing country, South Africa. In addition, this study explores the effect of these tutorials on academic performance. Understanding the perceptions of students regarding the effectiveness of using web conferencing is both influential and critical to the success or failure of the integration of web conferencing in accounting education. In general, attendance of web conference-based tutorials was found to positively and statistically significantly impact the students’ academic performance, and the majority of the respondents agreed that regularly attending the web conferences and connecting with instructors improve their academic performance. These findings offer support for the continued use of web conferencing as a beneficial teaching and learning intervention. While this study is limited to a single site, the positive results of this study may encourage other instructors to explore web conferencing tutorials and enable subsequent multiple site investigations.

KEYWORDS:

• Web conference
• academic performance
• connectivism
• tutorials
• synchronous learning

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Webinar is short for Web-based seminar. A Webinar can be defined as a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar that is conducted over the web using video conferencing software. Some other terms used for a webinar include: synchronous online environments (Hampel, 2006) and web conferencing (Loch & Reushle, 2008; Kear et al., 2012). In this paper, we will use the term ‘web conference’.

2 Quintiles 1–4 were combined as the individual groups were too small to allow for meaningful statistical analysis.

3 Fasset is the Finance and Accounting Services Sector Education and Training Authority of South Africa established in terms of the Skills Development Act (Act 97 of 1998). The purpose of Fasset is to fund and encourage education and training of employees and future employees in the finance and accounting services sector to address the skills shortage in this sector of the South African economy.

4 There are 11 official languages in South Africa: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. Most South Africans can speak more than one of these official languages.

5 English is generally understood across the country, being the language of business, politics and the media, and is regarded as the country’s lingua franca (bridge language/common language/trade language – a language that is used to make communication possible between people who do not share a native language).