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Some accounting teachers confirmed that the quality in accounting instructions was a bit lower than expected. The reasons for the decline in quality of senior high school accounting education noted by some accounting teachers included capricious curricular changes; short supply of teaching and learning facilities; irrelevant accounting teacher education programmes; and overly ambitious syllabic content. The 2007 Education Reform became operational from the year 2007. That was when the 4-year senior high school education system was introduced into the country. At that time, the arrangement was that students started their elective vocational subjects from the second year. However, in 2009, the 4-year senior high school system was reverted to three years. This was suddenly initiated probably after teachers had familiarised themselves with the 4-year system. Indeed, accounting teachers have stressed this continuous curricular and the associated syllabic change as some disturbance militating against their smooth teaching agenda.

Students somewhat disagreed to the accounting teachers‘ modest assessment. The students were rather positive in their assessment of the quality in senior high school accounting education. They attributed the quality of accounting instructions to curriculum improvement that has taken place over the years. They believed that curriculum planners have been current enough to incorporate new ideas and changes in the curriculum. The simplification of the content of the senior high school accounting syllabus had been perennially beneficial to students. The replacement of terminologies such as debtors’ account with accounts

receivable has enhanced uniformity. This was merely essential to stay up with current

developments in the field of accountancy. The incorporation of the new ideas to the curriculum made it relevant to solving societal problems. This enhanced the curriculum‘s acceptance to students because it was only through the usefulness of the curriculum that students were motivated to invest time in its study. The ease with which the curriculum

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accommodated new concepts made it flexible. In the final analysis, the curriculum was deemed to succeed on the basis of Molla and Lee‘s (2012) secondment that the flexibility in the structure of the curriculum increases the success of the curriculum.

In fact, almost all the participating accounting students seemed appreciative with the level of quality in accounting lessons. They described accounting lessons as being enjoyable. This was attributed to accounting teachers‘ ability to device means to make the class interesting. Students intimated that they were much more involved in accounting lessons. In addition, they became occupied by working out a lot of practice questions which were available in the system. Indeed, from these evidence, students‘ motivation might be heightened to enjoy accounting lessons. This is consistent with Makena‘s (2011) finding that teaching strategies influence teacher effectiveness in curriculum implementation.

Taking the teachers word against that of the students, it is prudent to be circumspect and recognise the unique placement of the teachers to make a more credible assessment. In addition, the direct observation taken authenticates the teachers‘ assessment. Undeniably, some success has been recorded in accounting instructions, the students‘ assessment seemed to overly heighten the level of quality of senior high school accounting education.

5.8 SUMMARY

Considering the level of usage of the senior high school accounting curriculum, accounting teachers‘ interpretation of such accounting curriculum components, the concerns accounting teachers harboured regarding the implementation of the accounting curriculum, there seemed to be some apparent disregard for the level of quality implied in the senior high school accounting education. The apex of the problem is the instructional engagement which was found to be lacking the essence required to impute and sustain some appreciable level of quality in such an accounting educational enterprise.

The numerical summary of the quality limits of senior high school accounting education can be gauged from Table 6.1. The summary of the quality analyses gives a rather synoptic view of the reality. The descriptive statistics appear too simple and misleading. Careful scrutiny and rigorous analytical procedures need to be employed to comprehensively digest the phenomenon. The absolute majority (n=92; 59%) of the accounting teachers appeared to be providing sustainable quality of education that proves worthwhile and endures with

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appreciable time period. However, few (n=9 out of 155; 6%) of the teachers still experiment with the curriculum.

Table 6.1: Quality Pattern in Senior High School Accounting Education

Quality Description Frequency Percentage

Poor 40 25.8

Turbulence 9 5.8

Good for the occasion 14 9

Sustainable 92 59.4

Total 155 100

Source: Field work, 2013

As noted earlier, circumspection and meticulousness are paramount not to conclude on the basis of the face value of the descriptive statistics that senior high school accounting education is of highest quality that is enduring. Contrary to noticing the majority of the accounting teachers to be operating within the domain of sustainable accounting education, their heightened self-concerns, defiance of fidelity of implementation, lack of commitment to implementing the cost accounting curriculum, coupled with the concerns raised about the external examiners in terms of falling standards in accounting education, makes one unsure to embrace the fact painted by the descriptive quality criteria of accounting education.

Consequently, without absolutely dismissing the fact that quality is lacking in accounting education in senior high schools in Ghana, an attention is drawn to the host of other factors that proved otherwise. Results from every sub-problem except the levels of use results pointed out that the quality in accounting education was suspicious. The inconsistencies between the levels of use and stages of concern, in particular, as ramified in the Concerns- Based Adoption Model is worthy of attention. The validity of the applicability and interpretation of the LoU and SoC results is therefore questionable. Referent to this study, no congruence was obtained between the two results. Whilst the levels of use of the accounting curriculum indicated intensive use, the stages of concern results in sharp contrast unearthed that accounting teachers failed to use the same curriculum. However, because all other results pointed to poor quality in senior high school accounting education in Ghana, the LoU results which may not be accurately valid is disregarded. Further, it was discovered that not all

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accounting teachers went through the same developmental process as postulated by the concerns theory. The study thus supports Ghaith and Shaaban (1999) in calling for further research on Concerns-Based adoption Model.

Ultimately, the study identified that, in principle, accounting teachers failed to use the accounting curriculum for their accounting instructions. They ended up using the old curriculum in spite of the availability of the new curriculum. As well, accounting teachers had their own interpretation of the accounting curriculum components. The effect was the breaking of the uniformity of practice and the subsequent corruption of the fidelity of the curriculum implementation. This was further confirmed by the teachers‘ stages of concern which rather revealed that the accounting teachers, indeed, failed to use the curriculum.

It was further acknowledged that the desire to teach the totality of accounting in the senior high school accounting education was almost negligible. Accounting teachers expressed the desire to teaching financial accounting but not cost accounting. No wonder, students failed to perform as expected of them in accounting examinations. At least, what could be expected for garbage in, garbage out? Is it not only fair that students perform abysmally as witnessed? More corroborative evidence in connection with pedagogical lapses in accounting instructions added to the negative assessment made of the quality of senior high school accounting education. Indeed, the whole analysis pointed out the fact that accounting education had suffered without immunity at the senior high school level. It is therefore pointless to argue any quality limits the curriculum could merit in its current form.

In spite of the apparent lack of the desired quality in senior high school accounting education, there has been some modest strides in its quality assessment. There are a number of factors that have contributed positively to this degree of success. These factors are collectively referred to as facilitators of quality senior high school accounting education. These are effectiveness of teaching strategies; proliferation of quality textbooks and technology; teacher availability and quality; content simplification; teacher confidence, composure and content knowledge; and active students‘ participation.

The state of poor quality senior high school accounting education is explicable on the basis of some factors that had negatively mediated the instructional progress in the classroom. Several of these factors abound with varying degrees of intensity in terms of how they retrogressively

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impacted the quality dimensions of the accounting education system. In this study, however, the degree of intensity of the factors is not fathomed. The concentration has been on their identification.

The factors of poor quality senior high school accounting education, hereby referred to as inhibitors, identified in this study were teacher dominance in accounting instructions; irresponsive accounting teacher education; teachers‘ motivation to use the accounting curriculum; teacher concerns in adopting the accounting curriculum; selective implementation of accounting education; ineffective pedagogical interactions and poor communicative skills; constrained instructional time; and poor quality of physical facility.

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