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Effect of Accounting Career Mentorship on Students’ Professional Identity Development in Nigerian Universities

Abstract

Professional identity development is an important aspect of Accounting Education because students are expected to develop a clear understanding of their professional roles, responsibilities, values, competencies, and future career pathways before entering the accounting profession. Accounting students may, however, have limited opportunities to interact with practising accountants and other accounting professionals who can provide practical insights into workplace expectations, professional ethics, career development, and the transition from classroom learning to professional practice. Accounting Career Mentorship provides students with opportunities to receive guidance, professional advice, role modelling, career information, and practical insights from experienced accounting professionals. Such mentorship may strengthen students’ understanding of the accounting profession and support the development of a stronger professional identity. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of Accounting Career Mentorship on students’ professional identity development in Nigerian universities. The study will be anchored on Social Learning Theory, Social Cognitive Career Theory, and Experiential Learning Theory. Social Learning Theory explains how students may develop professional attitudes, behaviours, values, and expectations through observation and interaction with experienced accounting professionals. Social Cognitive Career Theory emphasizes the roles of self-efficacy, outcome expectations, personal goals, and environmental support in shaping students’ career development and professional aspirations. Experiential Learning Theory explains how students can develop professional understanding through practical experiences, reflection, observation, and interaction with workplace practitioners. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how Accounting Career Mentorship may influence students’ professional identity development. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The population will comprise Accounting Education students enrolled in selected Nigerian universities. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select states, universities, departments, levels of study, classes, and eligible students. Accounting Career Mentorship will be assessed using indicators such as mentorship participation, frequency of mentor-student interaction, duration of mentorship, accessibility of mentors, professional guidance, career counselling, workplace discussions, accounting career information, professional role modelling, professional ethics discussions, communication with practising accountants, career planning activities, professional development guidance, exposure to accounting workplace expectations, feedback from mentors, goal-setting activities, professional networking opportunities, discussion of professional qualifications, and practical career experiences. Students’ professional identity development will be assessed using indicators such as understanding of the accounting profession, awareness of professional responsibilities, identification with the accounting profession, professional self-concept, professional confidence, perceived professional competence, understanding of professional values, ethical awareness, commitment to professional standards, career clarity, career aspirations, professional role awareness, sense of belonging to the accounting profession, confidence in performing professional roles, understanding of workplace expectations, professional communication, professional behaviour, responsibility, accountability, integrity, professionalism, adaptability, commitment to continuous learning, professional goal orientation, career decision-making, readiness for professional practice, and willingness to pursue professional development. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized professional identity assessment scales, mentorship participation records, mentor interaction logs, career-development activity records, and relevant university programme documents. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students’ characteristics, mentorship exposure, career experiences, and professional identity levels. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of Accounting Career Mentorship on students’ professional identity development. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, professional identity scores before and after participation in the mentorship programme may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings.  The study is expected to find that Accounting Career Mentorship has a significant positive effect on students’ professional identity development in Nigerian universities. Students who participate in structured mentorship programmes are expected to demonstrate stronger understanding of the accounting profession, greater professional confidence, clearer career goals, and stronger identification with professional accounting roles than students without comparable mentorship exposure. Mentorship participation may help students understand the expectations and responsibilities associated with accounting careers. Regular mentor-student interaction may provide opportunities for students to ask questions and receive guidance about professional development. Workplace discussions may improve students’ understanding of the practical realities of accounting practice. Professional role modelling may allow students to observe appropriate professional attitudes, behaviours, and standards. Discussions of professional ethics may strengthen students’ awareness of integrity, objectivity, confidentiality, accountability, and professional responsibility. Career guidance may help students identify suitable accounting career pathways and make informed career decisions. Mentors may also provide feedback that helps students recognize their strengths and areas requiring further development. Exposure to practising accountants may strengthen students’ perception of themselves as future accounting professionals and increase their confidence in performing professional responsibilities. Professional networking opportunities may help students develop relationships with individuals within the accounting profession and gain greater awareness of professional opportunities. Discussions about professional qualifications may increase students’ awareness of pathways for continued professional development. Goal-setting activities may strengthen students’ commitment to career planning and professional growth. However, the effectiveness of Accounting Career Mentorship may be constrained by limited availability of qualified mentors, inadequate university-industry collaboration, irregular mentor-student meetings, large numbers of mentees per mentor, limited funding for mentorship programmes, weak monitoring systems, insufficient mentor training, geographical barriers, scheduling difficulties, low student participation, inadequate institutional support, and limited opportunities for practical workplace interaction. The study therefore expects structured, accessible, sustained, and professionally relevant Accounting Career Mentorship to contribute significantly to stronger professional identity development among Accounting Education students in Nigerian universities. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on Accounting Career Mentorship, professional identity development, accounting education, career development, professional socialization, Social Learning Theory, Social Cognitive Career Theory, Experiential Learning Theory, professional accounting, accounting career development, professional self-concept, professional confidence, professional competence, ethical awareness, career planning, professional networking, workplace expectations, professional responsibility, employability, career readiness, professional development, Accounting Education students, Nigerian universities, and Accounting Education in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Universities Commission, university administrators, Accounting Education departments, accounting educators, professional accounting bodies, practising accountants, employers, career-development centres, industry partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening students’ professional preparation. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating Accounting Career Mentorship into Accounting Education programmes, establishing structured university-industry mentorship partnerships, increasing students’ access to practising accounting professionals, providing mentor training and guidance, strengthening professional ethics and career-development discussions, creating opportunities for professional networking and workplace interaction, monitoring mentorship activities, and aligning university accounting education with the professional expectations of the Nigerian accounting sector.

Keywords: Accounting Career Mentorship, professional identity development, accounting education, professional socialization, career development, professional self-concept, professional confidence, career planning, professional competence, professional ethics, workplace readiness, Accounting Education students, Nigerian universities, Nigeria.