How well adapted are accounting students for Bologna? : a comparative analysis of learning styles of Spanish social sciences students

Abstract

Background - University education in Spain is facing a major change in order to converge with the rest of Europe. Among the challenges the new pedagogy is based upon three principles: (I) increased autonomy and involvement of students in their own learning process, (II) active teaching methods and (III) role of the teaching staff as a manager of stimulating learning environments. This new pedagogy added to the development of certain soft skills, demands from students certain personal characteristics. Aims - The present paper compares the learning styles of Spanish university accounting students with colleagues in other social sciences degrees as well as the influence of several personal factors. Instrument and Sample - The instrument used is the Grasha-Reichmann Student Learning Style Scale, and the sample is composed by 619 students enrolled in different degrees at the University of Huelva. Results - Results indicate that accounting students present differences in learning styles in comparison with other social sciences students. Other differences were found associated with gender and age.