Effects of E-Learning Program in Accounting on Students’ Achievement and Motivation to Learn Double Entry Bookkeeping

Abstract

The present study examined the effects of an E-learning program in accounting (ELPA) used to teach and motivate secondary school to learn accounting concepts of double entry bookkeeping.  Accounting concepts are taught as part of the business education subject in Kenyan secondary schools in order to prepare students to take the accounting subject in Form Three. But it has become difficult to motivate students to take the subject, hence a very low number of students enrolling for accounting at the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC).  A quasi-experimental non-equivalent pretest-posttest research design was employed. A sample of 400 subjects from ten intact classes of boys-only and girls-only secondary school categories in Rift Valley and Western provinces were participated in present study.  The intact classes were randomly selected and assigned to the treatment classes.  The treatment schools were selected on the basis of being in possession of IBM-compatible computers and teaching business education as a subject in their school curriculum. Both the pre-test and the post-test were administered to all groups using two instruments; the Accounting Achievement Test (AAT) and the Student Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ).  Quantitative data analysis was done using t-test, and ANCOVA with statistical significance level set at p=0.05. The results indicate that the ELPA improved the students’ achievement and motivated them to overcome the notion of accounting being a difficult subject in secondary education.  The study concluded although the ELPA program was modestly effective in improving students’ performance and bolstering their motivation to learn accounting; more studies are still needed.

Keywords:  E-learning, School Accounting, Secondary Education, Business Studies, Double Entry Bookkeeping