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Innovators or inhibitors? Accounting faculty resistance to new educational technologies in higher education

journal contribution
posted on 2016-09-01, 00:00 authored by Kim WattyKim Watty, Jade MckayJade Mckay, Leanne Ngo
While technology affords new opportunities and benefits for educators in their teaching practice, a significant number of faculty are resistant to adopting new technologies. Unprompted, 93% of faculty interviewed in the Australian study to be discussed in this paper pointed to accounting educator resistance as a key barrier to technology adoption and use. Adopting the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a framework, this paper argues that one of the greatest challenges facing business schools and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the 21st century is not new technologies themselves, but the ability of educators to embrace educational technologies. Drawing on the qualitative data to emerge from interviews with accounting educators recognised as exemplary in their use of innovative technologies, this paper explores the reasons for lack of faculty uptake and argues for academics to become innovators rather than inhibitors. The findings offer a timely insight into a twenty-first century issue affecting HEIs and, specifically, accounting academics. While carried out in the Accounting discipline, the findings may be relatable and applicable to all disciplines. A suite of recommendations are proposed for institutions, business schools and academics to consider.

History

Journal

Journal of Accounting Education

Volume

36

Season

In Press

Pagination

1-15

Location

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

ISSN

0748-5751

Language

en

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal, C Journal article

Copyright notice

2016, Elsevier

Publisher

Elsevier BV