DIGITAL LITERACY AND ACCOUNTING STUDENTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION

What the paper says

Digital literacy is required for all university students to thrive in today's online environment and is especially important for Accounting Students who, as professionals, must apply critical evaluation techniques to digital information. This study looks at how university Accounting Students perceive their digital literacy abilities against the perceptions of students in other disciplines. Researchers used a ten-item survey based on the digital framework of Hobbs to measure differences in perceived digital literacy across students. Research subjects included students of multiple disciplines across three schools at a large urban university. Research results indicate that all students outside of the accounting disciple perceived themselves to be significantly better at being able to: a) analyze messages in a variety of forms; b) evaluate the quality and credibility of content in a message; c) use powerful search strategies; and d) develop multimedia creations. On the other hand, our research results indicate that Accounting Students perceive themselves as significantly better than Finance Students in their ability to a) use the Internet to connect with others with shared interests; b) use the power of communication as a tool for advocacy; c) understand the meaning of copyright; and, d) apply social responsibility and ethical principles to communication behavior. In addition, Computer Science Students perceive themselves as significantly better than Accounting Students in their ability to a) use powerful search strategies; b) develop multimedia creations; c) use the Internet to connect with others with shared interests; d) reflect on online conduct and online social responsibilities; e) use the power of communication as a tool for advocacy; and f) apply social responsibility and ethical principles to communication behavior. Lastly, younger students perceived themselves as better than older students in their ability to a) use the Internet to connect with others with shared interests and b) to use the power of communication as a tool for advocacy. This research concludes that there is a pressing need to focus on and include digital literacy skills into curriculum for Accounting Students.