An Examination of Accounting Student Background and Cognitive Ability:
Are Students Failing in Critical Thinking?
Abstract
The modern workplace demands ever-greater levels of cognitive ability. Corporations need newly hired graduates to enter the workplace with a certain level of critical thinking and reflective judgment skills. Unfortunately, accounting students appear to be falling behind in developing these cognitive skills. This research elaborates on the reflective judgment theory to investigate the backgrounds and cognitive levels of accounting students. The argument is made that certain background factors provide a significant differentiator among students’ reflective judgment and that students are below the necessary level of cognitive ability based on existing standards. Data from a study of accounting students in a United States-based university, tested with one-way Anova and dependent t-tests, support the role certain background factors play in student reflective judgment. The results also support the assertions that the cognitive abilities of graduating students do not meet the levels required by today’s corporations. These results suggest that accounting schools and accounting educators should employ more effective critical thinking curricula and assignments. This research adds to reflective judgment theory through a better understanding of student cognitive ability that can be translated into application in the classroom. Additionally, this research expands the use of open-ended structures in assessing cognitive abilities.
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References
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Bourner, T. (2003). Assessing reflective learning. _Education + Training, 45_(5), 267-272. Doi: 10.1108/00400910310484321.
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Bucaro, A. C. (2019). Enhancing auditors’ critical thinking in audits of complex estimates. _Accounting, Organizations & Society, 73_, 35-49. Doi: 10.1016/j.aos.2018.06.002.
Buehl, M. M., Alexander, P. A., & Murphy, P. K. (2002). Beliefs about schooled knowledge: Domain specific or domain general? _Contemporary Educational Psychology, 27_(3), 415-449. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.2001.1103.
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Dawson, T. L. (2003). A stage is a stage is a stage: A direct comparison of two scoring systems. _The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 164_(3), 335-364. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221320309597987.
Dawson, T. L. (2008). Metacognition and learning in adulthood. _Development Testing Service, LLC_.
Dawson, T. L., Xie, Y., & Wilson, M. (2003). Domain-general and domain-specific developmental assessments: Do they measure the same thing? _Cognitive Development, 18_(1), 61-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2014(02)00162-4.
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Dawson-Tunik, T. L., Commons, M., Wilson, M., & Fischer, K. (2005). The shape of development. _The European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 2_(2), 163-196.
Dwyer, C. P., Hogan, M. J., & Stewart, I. (2015). The effects of argument mapping-infused critical thinking instruction on reflective judgment performance. _Thinking Skills & Creativity, 16_, 11-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2014.12.002.
Dwyer, C. P., Hogan, M. J., Harney, O. M., & O’Reilly, J. (2014). Using interactive management to facilitate a student-centered conceptualization of critical thinking: A case study. _Educational Technology Research & Development, 62_(6), 687-709. Doi: 10.1007/s11423-014-9360-7.
Farooq, M. S., Chaudhry, A. H., Shafiq, M., & Berhanu, G. (2011). Factors affecting students’ quality of academic performance: A case of secondary school level. _Journal of Quality & Technology Management, 7_(2), 1-14.
Fischer, K. W. (1980). A theory of cognitive development: The control and construction of hierarchies of skills. _Psychological Review, 87_(6), 477-531.
Fischer, K. W. (2008). Dynamic cycles of cognitive and brain development: Measuring growth in mind, brain, and education. In A. M. Battro, K. W. Fischer & P. Léna (Eds.), _The educated brain_ (pp. 127-150). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511489907.010.
Fischer, K. W., & Bidell, T. R. (2006). Dynamic development of action, thought, and emotion. In W. Damon & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), _Theoretical models of human development. Handbook of child psychology_ (6th ed., vol. 1, pp. 313-399). New York: Wiley.
Fischer, K. W., & Pruyne, E. (2003). Reflective thinking in adulthood: Emergence, development, and variation. In J. Demick & C. Andreoletti (Eds.), _Handbook of adult development_ (pp. 169-198). Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0617-1_10.
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Gottfredson, L. S. (1997). Why g matters: The complexity of everyday life. _Intelligence, 24_(1), 79-132. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-2896(97)90014-3.
Ho, M. (2022, February 16). Skills gap is top-of-mind for employers. _Association for Talent Development (ATD)_. Retrieved from https://www.td.org/content/atd-blog/skills-gap-is-top-of-mind-for-employers.
Hunter, J. E. (1986). Cognitive ability, cognitive aptitude, job knowledge, and job performance. _Journal of Vocational Behavior, 29_(3), 340-362. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-8791(86)90013-8.
Jager, J., Putnick, D. L., & Bornstein, M. H. (2017). More than just convenient: The scientific merits of homogeneous convenience samples. _Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 82_(2), 13-30. https://doi.org/10.1111/mono.12296.
Jehng, J. C. J., Johnson, S. D., & Anderson, R. C. (1993). Schooling and students' epistemological beliefs about learning. _Contemporary educational psychology, 18_(1), 23-35. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1993.1004.
Kealey, B. T., Holland, J., & Watson, M. (2005). Preliminary evidence on the association between critical thinking and performance in principles of accounting. _Issues in Accounting Education, 20_(1), 33-49. https://doi.org/10.2308/iacc.2005.20.1.33.
Kim, K. (2009). Exploring undergraduate students' active learning for enhancing their critical thinking and learning in a large class. _Doctoral Dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University_.
King, P. M., & Kitchener, K. S. (1994). _Developing reflective judgment: Understanding and promoting intellectual growth and critical thinking in adolescents and adults_. San Francisco, USA: Jossey-Bass.
King, P. M., & Kitchener, K. S. (2004). Reflective judgment: Theory and research on the development of epistemic assumptions through adulthood. _Educational Psychologist, 39_(1), 5-18. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep3901_2.
Kitchener, K. S., & King, P. M. (1981). Reflective judgment: Concepts of justification and their relationship to age and education. _Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 2_(2), 89-116. https://doi.org/10.1016/0193-3973(81)90032-0.
Kitchener, K. S., Lynch, C. L., Fischer, K. W., & Wood, P. K. (1993). Developmental range of reflective judgment: The effect of contextual support and practice on developmental stage. _Developmental Psychology, 29_(5), 893-906. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.29.5.893.
Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J. L., Buckley, J. A., Bridges, B. K., & Hayek, J. C. (2006). _What matters to student success: A review of the literature_. National Postsecondary Education Cooperative.
Lectica. (2022). The LRJA. Retrieved on August 2, 2022, from https://dis.lectica.org/about/showcase.php?instrument_id=LRJA.
Mason, L., Boldrin, A., & Zurlo, G. (2006). Epistemological understanding in different judgment domains: Relationships with gender, grade level, and curriculum. _International Journal of Educational Research, 45_(1-2), 43-56.
Mayhew, M., Rockenbach, A., Bowman, N., Seifert, T., Wolniak, G., Pascarella, E., & Terenzini, P. (2016). _How college affects students (Vol. 3): 21st century evidence that higher education works_. Jossey-Bass
Meyer, J., Lüdtke, O., Schmidt, F. T. C., Fleckenstein, J., Trautwein, U., & Köller, O. (2024). Conscientiousness and cognitive ability as predictors of academic achievement: Evidence of synergistic effects from integrative data analysis. _European Journal of Personality, 38_(1), 36-52. https://doi.org/10.1177/08902070221127065.
Otero, I., Salgado, J. F., & Moscoso, S. (2022). Cognitive reflection, cognitive intelligence, and cognitive abilities: A meta-analysis. _Intelligence, 90_, 101614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2021.101614.
Pascarella, E. T. (1989). The development of critical thinking: Does college make a difference? _Journal of College Student Development, 30_(1), 19-26.
Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). _How college affects students: A third decade of research_ (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Pew Research Center. (2017, May 3). _The future of job and jobs training_ (pp. 1-93). Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2017/05/PL_2017.05.03_Future-of-Job-Skills_FINAL.pdf.
Pincus, K. V., Stout, D. E., Sorensen, J. E., Stocks, K. D., & Lawson, R. A. (2017). Forces for change in higher education and implications for the accounting academy. _Journal of Accounting Education, 40_, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccedu.2017.06.001.
Preiss, D. D., Castillo, J. C., Flotts, P., & San Martin, E. (2013). Assessment of argumentative writing and critical thinking in higher education: Educational correlates and gender differences. _Learning & Individual Differences, 28_, 193-203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2013.06.004.
Roth, B., Becker, N., Romeyke, S., Schäfer, S., Dominick, F., & Spinath, F. M. (2015). Intelligence and school grades: A meta-analysis. _Intelligence, 53_, 118-137. removed
Ruffing, S., Wach, F. S., Spinath, F. M., Brünken, R., & Karbach, J. (2015). Learning strategies and general cognitive ability as predictors of gender-specific academic achievement. _Frontiers in Psychology, 6_, 1238-1250. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01238.
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Published
2025-11-03
How to Cite
SARGENT, Matthew J; WINTON, Bradley G.
An Examination of Accounting Student Background and Cognitive Ability:.
Journal of Accounting, Business and Management (JABM), [S.l.], v. 32, n. 2, p. 127-143, nov. 2025.
ISSN 2622-2167.
Available at: <https://journal.stie-mce.ac.id/index.php/jabminternational/article/view/1597>. Date accessed: 13 nov. 2025.
doi: https://doi.org/10.31966/jabminternational.v32i2.1597.
Section
Articles
