Covid-19 pandemic and online accounting education: the experience of undergraduate accounting students in an emerging economy

PurposeThe study investigates the experiences of undergraduate students in using online learning platforms to study Accounting-related courses during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses qualitative research approach and 89 undergraduate Accounting students from University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) were purposively interviewed using semi-structured interview guide, observation and documentary evidence to achieve triangulation of data and results.FindingsThe study discovers that due to the Covid pandemic, the online Accounting learning system has a relative advantage over the physical classroom learning as the online pedagogy ensures that the students are safe and do not contract the virus. The findings further indicate that the university's engagement framework includes three units: engaging students with content on the university's Learning Management System (LMS), engaging students with their peers via group course WhatsApp platform and Zoom/Google Meet lectures, and engaging students with their instructors via the LMS, Zoom/Google Meet, and Group WhatsApp. Each unit is based on research-based best practices and strategies for online education such as the use of media (videos) to augment written course content and to improve student-to-content engagement, positive cognitive, collaborative, behavioural and emotional engagement of students. The university's strategies also encourage student-to-student involvement, as well as assessment and feedback. Regarding behavioural and emotional engagements, the study discovered that some lecturers' attitudes toward students coupled with insufficient administrative support influenced students to develop negative reactions to the use of online learning platforms for Accounting education.Practical implicationsThis paper has the potential to inform and improve implementation of online Accounting education in developing countries where the digital divide is staggering and digital inclusion and infrastructure for online education are at a precarious stage that cannot be remedied overnight.Social implicationsThe new context of Accounting education enables an increase in student enrolment because it does not require students to travel to or stay in a hostel for an extended period of time in order to earn an Accounting degree.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the Accounting education literature on emerging economies by providing new evidence of perception differences between higher education institutions and students. Education providers in emerging economies frequently adopt Western modes of online education without making structural adjustments. By empirically exploring students' opinions, this study challenges these managerial perceptions, and the findings will assist regulators and policymakers in making appropriate changes.