Students' perceptions of factors influencing teaching quality of accounting instructors at a university in Libya

Higher education has long been recognized as a catalyst for societal transformation and global progress. In line with this understanding, the Libyan government has been investing in sending its citizens abroad for higher education, aiming to harness their knowledge and skills to drive economic and social advancement within Libya. However, despite these efforts, higher education in Libya faces numerous challenges. These include low international rankings of Libyan universities, inadequate teaching quality, reliance on traditional teaching methods, and a mismatch between educational outcomes and the needs of the labor market, leading to Libya’s exclusion from global quality indices. To address these challenges, this study explored the issues within Libyan higher education through the lens of constructivist and behaviorist theories. The constructivist approach underscores the importance of faculty members’ experiences, ongoing professional development, and exposure to international education in enhancing teaching quality. Similarly, behaviorism emphasizes the role of teaching styles in effective knowledge transfer, highlighting the significance of both teacher-centered and student-centered approaches. The research aimed to investigate how various factors influenced the quality of accounting education from students’ perspectives. It examined the impact of teaching experience, professional development activities, teaching styles, and the graduation place of faculty members on teaching quality. Data was collected through questionnaires from 281 accounting students at the University of Zawia in Libya and supplemented by interviews with instructors from selected classes. The quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS and the research hypotheses were tested using Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) followed by as well as interviews were conducted with instructors of 21 selected classes which was analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that teaching experience, professional development activities, and teaching styles significantly influenced teaching quality. Interestingly, students perceived that faculty members who had studied abroad were less effective in teaching compared to those who studied locally, although student-centered teaching styles were more impactful when implemented by internationally educated faculty. Additionally, the frequency of experiential learning activities inversely affected the provision of professional development for faculty members, while enhancing the efficacy of student-centered teaching approaches. Qualitative data further supported these findings, indicating a preference among students for teacher-centered teaching styles despite their limited relevance to labor market requirements. Nonetheless, participation in professional development activities was recognized as beneficial for enhancing teaching quality, especially in conjunction with experiential learning activities aimed at refining students’ practical skills. Based on these findings, the study recommends several interventions to improve higher education and accounting education in Libya. These include providing support and resources for faculty development, leveraging the experiences of internationally educated faculty to transition towards student-centered teaching, and increasing investment in professional development activities. Decision-makers are urged to prioritize these measures to enhance the quality and relevance of higher education in Libya, ultimately contributing to the country’s socio-economic development.

Text 125121 - Full Text.pdf Download (4MB) Official URL or Download Paper: http://ethesis.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/18815

Actions (login required)

View Item