Determinants of Students' Performance in Cost Accounting – Further Evidence from Kuwait

Determinants of Students' Performance in Cost Accounting – Further Evidence from Kuwait

World Journal of Management

Vol. 6. No. 1. , March 2015, Pages: 136 – 152

Determinants of Students' Performance in Cost Accounting – Further Evidence from Kuwait

Khalid A. Alanzi

The purpose of this study was to perform an empirical investigation of the influence of select factors on the academic performance of students studying cost accounting. This study attempts to fill some of the gaps in the existing local and regional accounting education literature and to provide comparative evidence for the harmonization of international accounting education. A stepwise regression model using a sample of 156 students who were enrolled in four sections of a Cost Accounting course at the College of Business Studies in Kuwait during the 2012/2013 academic year was used to test the study's hypotheses. The results indicated that the influences of the selected factors are diverse in their effects on students' performance. The college major GPA had the most significant influence on students' performance, followed by lecture attendance and, finally, college experience. Students' gender, age, nationality, score on secondary school examinations, branch of study in secondary school, prerequisite grade, and overall GPA in college showed no significant influences on students' performance. The study concludes by considering the implications of these findings on the administration of the College of Business Studies and similar institutions, as well as for instructors, and suggests avenues for future research.

Key Words: Accounting, Accounting Education, Cost Accounting, Students' Performance, Determinants of Performance.

JEL Codes: M41

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.21102/wjm.2015.03.61.11