Seleksie van praktykgerigte leerinhoud vir rekeningkunde N1 tot N3 aan kolleges vir beroepsonderwys

Abstract

Selection of practice-directed learning content for Accounting N1 to N3 at colleges for vocational education

The need for an investigation into the identification of more practice-directed learning content for Accounting N1 to N3 that could be offered at colleges for vocational education was recognized as early as 1988 when educational research recommended that investigation be undertaken into the relevance of the present system of vocational education offered by colleges for vocational education. This research was focused on the selection of more practice-directed learning content for a subject curriculum for Accounting N1 to N3 that could be offered at colleges for vocational education. To meet these requirements, the following objectives were laid down for the research: * To determine the correlation between the mission of colleges for vocational education and the general and particular training objectives for Accounting N1 to N3 * To indicate the place of colleges for vocational education in the system of education of the RSA and to determine the implications of this and the nature and direction of Accounting in the school and the college for vocational education * To determine the place that Accounting holds within the total programme structure or curriculum for business studies * To indicate the curricular theoretical context for the selection of practice-directed learning content for Accounting N1 to N3

* To identify and systematise the demands for knowledge, skills and attitudes that the Accounting vocational milieu places on the newcomer from a college for vocational education * To use the identified needs of commerce and industry and the requirements of generally accepted accounting practice (GAAP) as a guideline in determining objectives and learning content for the respective subject curricula for Accounting N1 to N3. Since research into the practice-directed offering of the subject in its totality is an extensive task, it was decided to concentrate on the proposals from commerce and industry in relation to the required accounting knowledge and skills that a college-leaver at N1 to N3 level should have to enter the world of work successfully. The way in which these demands could be taken into account curriculum-wise in the learning content of the subject curriculum for Accounting N1 to N3 also formed part of the research. To carry out the research, a literature study was undertaken to obtain a curricular theoretical context for the selection of practice-directed learning content for Accounting N1 to N3. This was followed by an empirical investigation among lecturers of colleges for vocational education, small to medium-sized businesses and accounting firms to determine practice-directed learning content for these subject curricula. The results of the research indicate that the current subject curriculum for Accounting N1 to N3 does not satisfy the practice-directed demands set by the business sector for a college-leaver who wants to enter directly upon an accounting career. It was found, in particular, that the objectives at present incorporated in the subject curriculum for Accounting N1 to N3, had to be appreciably adjusted to satisfy the practice-directed demands of the business sector. Such an adjustment should also mean that the subject curriculum for Accounting N1 to N3 will be more directly focused on the mission of vocational education.

As a result of the empirical research, which took the form of questionnaires to college lecturers, small to medium-sized enterprises and accounting firms, proposals were made to adjust the general and particular objectives in the present subject curriculum of Accounting N1 to N3. Proposals for new learning content for the present subject curriculum for Accounting N1 to N3 were also made, which could mean that the particular subject curriculum will satisfy the accounting knowledge and skills requirements of commerce and industry. The proposals include learning content that places the emphasis on the application of theoretical knowledge, which will be realised mainly through the use of practice-directed applications such as the completion of source and supplementary documents, the completion of exercises from source documents and the simulation of situations directly related to accounting practice. The inclusion of relevant computer applications through which students are enabled, on conclusion of the N3 instructional offering, to apply both the manual and the computer system in practice can be seen as an important recommendation arising from the research. The proposed new learning content that resulted from this research was included in an experimental subject curriculum for Accounting and has already been implemented on an experimental basis at some colleges for vocational education in South Africa. In conclusion, the results indicate that the selection of learning content for a subject curriculum that can be offered at colleges for vocational education can only be successful if there is sufficient co-operation between subject curriculum developers and the sectors for which the curricula are being developed. It was also obvious from the research that inputs from accountants and businesses are indispensable for determining practice-directed learning content for Accounting N1 to N3.