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Effect of Accounting Learning Stations on Students’ Mastery of Accounting Procedures in Nigerian Universities

Abstract

Accounting learning stations are an instructional strategy that organizes classroom learning into multiple activity-based stations where students rotate through structured tasks designed to develop specific accounting knowledge and practical skills. Accounting education students are expected to master accounting procedures such as transaction analysis, journal entries, ledger posting, trial-balance preparation, adjustment entries, financial statement preparation, and error correction. However, students may experience difficulties mastering these procedures when instruction relies predominantly on lecturer-centred teaching and provides limited opportunities for repeated practice, active participation, and individualized feedback. Accounting Learning Stations provide students with opportunities to engage in different accounting activities through practical exercises, problem-solving tasks, simulations, collaborative activities, technology-supported exercises, and guided practice. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of accounting learning stations on students' mastery of accounting procedures in Nigerian universities. The study will be anchored on Experiential Learning Theory, Constructivist Learning Theory, and Mastery Learning Theory. Experiential Learning Theory emphasizes learning through concrete experience, reflective observation, conceptualization, and active experimentation, providing a suitable framework for activity-based accounting learning stations. Constructivist Learning Theory emphasizes active participation, collaboration, prior knowledge, problem-solving, and the construction of knowledge through meaningful learning experiences. Mastery Learning Theory emphasizes systematic instruction, repeated practice, formative assessment, feedback, corrective learning activities, and attainment of specified learning standards before progressing to more advanced tasks. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how accounting learning stations may influence students' mastery of accounting procedures. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. The study population will comprise accounting education students enrolled in selected public and private universities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, universities, faculties or departments, levels of study, classes, and eligible accounting education students. Accounting learning stations will be assessed using indicators such as transaction analysis stations, source-document stations, journal-entry stations, ledger-posting stations, trial-balance stations, adjustment-entry stations, error-correction stations, financial-statement preparation stations, cash-book stations, bank-reconciliation stations, inventory-accounting stations, depreciation stations, accounting-standard application stations, computerized accounting stations, spreadsheet-based stations, case-study stations, problem-solving stations, simulation stations, individual practice stations, collaborative stations, lecturer-guided stations, peer-learning stations, formative assessment stations, feedback activities, station rotation, task sequencing, progressive difficulty, time allocation, repeated practice, and opportunities for corrective learning. Students' mastery of accounting procedures will be assessed using indicators such as ability to analyse transactions, identify appropriate accounts, apply debit and credit principles, prepare journal entries, post accurately to ledger accounts, balance ledger accounts, prepare trial balances, record adjustment entries, treat accruals and prepayments, account for depreciation, make inventory adjustments, prepare bank reconciliations, correct accounting errors, prepare financial statements, apply accounting procedures accurately, complete accounting tasks within appropriate time limits, identify and correct procedural errors, retain accounting procedures, transfer procedural knowledge to unfamiliar problems, and independently perform accounting procedures with minimal assistance. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized accounting procedure mastery tests, practical accounting tasks, station-based performance assessments, observation checklists, competency-based assessment rubrics, students' practical work, formative assessment records, and pre-test and post-test assessments. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic and academic characteristics, exposure to accounting learning stations, learning experiences, and levels of accounting procedure mastery. Inferential statistical techniques, including paired and independent t-tests, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of accounting learning stations on students' mastery of accounting procedures. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, students' accounting procedure mastery scores before and after exposure to accounting learning stations may be compared with those of a control group receiving conventional accounting instruction 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 learning stations have a significant positive effect on students' mastery of accounting procedures in Nigerian universities. Students exposed to structured accounting learning stations are expected to demonstrate stronger procedural accuracy, greater confidence, improved retention, and better ability to perform accounting tasks independently than students receiving conventional lecturer-centred instruction. Transaction-analysis stations may strengthen students' ability to identify accounts affected by business transactions and determine appropriate accounting treatments. Journal-entry and ledger-posting stations may provide repeated opportunities to practise fundamental bookkeeping procedures and reduce errors in recording and posting transactions. Trial-balance and adjustment-entry stations may improve students' ability to organize accounting information and correctly apply adjustments before financial statements are prepared. Error-correction stations may strengthen students' ability to identify procedural mistakes and apply appropriate corrections. Financial-statement stations may help students integrate several accounting procedures into complete reporting tasks. Computerized accounting and spreadsheet-based stations may enhance students' ability to apply accounting procedures using digital tools, while case-study and simulation stations may improve their ability to transfer procedural knowledge to realistic accounting situations. Collaborative stations may promote peer learning and discussion, whereas individual stations may provide opportunities for independent practice and assessment. Formative assessment and immediate feedback at the stations may enable students to identify weaknesses and receive corrective instruction before progressing to more complex procedures. Progressive station tasks may further support mastery by moving students from basic transaction recording to more complex accounting procedures. However, limited classroom space, inadequate instructional resources, insufficient accounting technology, large class sizes, limited instructional time, inadequate lecturer preparation, and difficulties coordinating station rotation may reduce the effectiveness of the approach. The study therefore expects well-organized, practical, progressive, feedback-oriented, and appropriately supervised accounting learning stations to contribute significantly to improved mastery of accounting procedures among accounting education students in Nigerian universities. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on accounting learning stations, mastery of accounting procedures, accounting education, mastery learning, experiential learning, constructivist learning, activity-based learning, practical accounting education, procedural knowledge, accounting skills development, interactive learning, accounting pedagogy, and higher education in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Universities Commission, universities, accounting education departments, accounting educators, curriculum developers, professional accounting bodies, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving practical accounting instruction. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating accounting learning stations into accounting education programmes, developing curriculum-aligned station activities, providing adequate classroom and technological resources, incorporating formative assessment and immediate feedback into station-based learning, strengthening repeated practice of accounting procedures, training accounting educators in station-based instructional methods, developing competency-based assessments of procedural mastery, and aligning accounting education with the practical accounting competencies required in contemporary accounting and business environments in Nigeria.

Keywords: Accounting learning stations, mastery of accounting procedures, accounting education students, mastery learning, experiential learning, constructivist learning, activity-based learning, procedural knowledge, practical accounting education, accounting skills development, interactive learning, accounting pedagogy, Nigerian universities, Nigeria.