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Accoun ing Educa ion
An In e na ional Jou nal
ISSN: 0963-9284 (P in ) 1468-4489 (Online) Jou nal homepage: h ps://www. and online.com/loi/ aed20
Pe cep ions o he Use ulness o Vi ual Lea ning
En i onmen s in Accoun ing Educa ion: A
Compa a i e E alua ion o Unde g adua e
Accoun ing S uden s in Spain and England
Rosa io López Ga i a & Kamil Omo eso
To ci e his a icle: Rosa io López Ga i a & Kamil Omo eso (2013) Pe cep ions o he Use ulness
o Vi ual Lea ning En i onmen s in Accoun ing Educa ion: A Compa a i e E alua ion o
Unde g adua e Accoun ing S uden s in Spain and England, Accoun ing Educa ion, 22:5, 445-466,
DOI: 10.1080/09639284.2013.814476
To link o his a icle: h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/09639284.2013.814476
Published online: 01 No 2013.
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Pe cep ions o he Use ulness o Vi ual
Lea ning En i onmen s in Accoun ing
Educa ion: A Compa a i e E alua ion o
Unde g adua e Accoun ing S uden s in
Spain and England
ROSARIO LO
´PEZ GAVIRA∗and KAMIL OMOTESO∗∗
∗Uni e si y o Se ille, Spain; ∗∗
De Mon o Uni e si y, UK
Recei ed: July 2011
Re ised: Oc obe 2012, May 2013
Accep ed: May 2013
Published online: Oc obe 2013
ABSTRACT As he powe o he i ual wo ld con inues o mani es i sel in people’s quali y o li e
and capabili ies (including lea ning), his pape aims o assess accoun ing s uden s’ pe cep ions o
he use ulness o Vi ual Lea ning En i onmen s (VLE) o hei lea ning expe iences. I also
conside s he ac o s ha may in luence s uden s’ p e e ences o he VLE compa ed o ace- o-
ace lea ning. The s udy adminis e ed a s uc u ed ques ionnai e o inal-yea unde g adua e
accoun ing s uden s in wo uni e si ies, one in Spain and he o he in England, and applied - es ,
co ela ion and ac o analyses. Al hough he esul s show ha s uden s om bo h coun ies ind
VLE ools and echniques use ul o hei lea ning, wi hin he ame o he con ingency heo y o
educa ion, he s udy ound ha s uden s’ pe cep ions o he use ulness o VLEs a e s ongly
dependen upon hei coun y o s udy, due o he signi ican di e ences be ween Spanish and
English s uden s in i e o he se en VLE con ex ual ac o s.
KEY WORDS: Vi ual lea ning en i onmen (VLE), e-lea ning, echnology-enhanced lea ning,
accoun ing educa ion
1. In oduc ion
T adi ionally, ac i e lea ning akes place solely h ough ace- o- ace in e ac ion be ween
he u o and he lea ne . Today, howe e , he apid g ow h in he adop ion o In o ma ion
and Communica ion Technology (ICT) impac s upon he way in which educa o s each
Accoun ing Educa ion: an in e na ional jou nal, 2013
Vol. 22, No. 5, 445–466, h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1080/09639284.2013.814476
Co espondence Add ess: D Kamil Omo eso, Depa men o Economics, Finance and Accoun ing, Co en y
Uni e si y, Co en y, CV1 5FB, UK. Email: [email p o ec ed]
This pape was edi ed and accep ed by Richa d M. S. Wilson.
#2013 Taylo & F ancis
and s uden s lea n (Wells, De Lange and Fiege , 2008), as a ious educa ional ins i u ions
u ilise compu e o elec onic ools and echniques in hei eaching and lea ning ac i i ies
(e-lea ning sys ems). In addi ion, new echnologies ha e con inued o change wha has
been he dominan me hod o ins uc ion a ins i u ions o highe educa ion, while he
use o collabo a i e echnologies, suppo ed by web ools, is also becoming ubiqui ous.
The adop ion o hese sys ems by a ious educa ional ins i u ions is bo n ou o he
need o adap o he echnological impe a i e o ou mode n wo ld and o imp o e he
quali y o eaching and lea ning (Ligh ne and Olson, 2001; Po e and Johns on, 2006;
Peng, 2009).
Teaching is pe o med in an en i onmen composed o di e en elemen s: ins uc o (s),
lea ne (s), and ma e ial esou ces. Howe e , he e has been an inc eased emphasis on he
oles o u o s, lea ne s, and ins i u ional esou ces in enhancing s uden s’ lea ning expe i-
ence and o e all pe o mance (Halawi, Pi es and McCa hy, 2009). E-lea ning, he e o e,
is ega ded as being a c ucial ma e ial esou ce o e ec i e eaching and lea ning. The
e m e-lea ning e e s o he use o di e en ypes o elec onic media and ICT in eaching
and lea ning. Thus, i acili a es he ela ionships be ween ins uc o s and lea ne s h ough
he use o elec onic esou ces. I is now a ecognised me hod o deli e ing educa ional
ma e ial and has he bene i o enabling s uden s o choose he ime, place, and pace o
s udy (Reynolds, Rice and Uddin, 2007).
Vi ual lea ning, acco ding o S oneb eake and Hazel ine (2004, p. 209), is he deli e y
o lea ning h ough elec onic media ion ha educes he gap when he ins uc o and he
lea ne a e sepa a ed in ei he ime o place. The e o e, i ual lea ning en i onmen s
(VLEs) a e, acco ding o Wilson (1996, p. 8), ‘compu e -based en i onmen s ha a e ela-
i ely open sys ems, allowing in e ac ions and encoun e s wi h o he pa icipan s’. This
de ini ion widens he con en ional desc ip ion o he lea ning en i onmen by adding
h ee u he dimensions: echnology, in e ac ion and con ol (Piccoli, Ahmad and I es,
2001). In addi ion, Schmid (2002) ad oca ed ou elemen s necessa y o a success ul
VLE: adminis a ion, assessmen , con en and communi y. The VLEs o be assessed in
his cu en s udy i Wilson’s (1996) de ini ion and possess Schmid ’s ou elemen s,
speci ied abo e.
In he li e a u e, VLEs a e o he wise e e ed o as echnology-media ed lea ning, web-
enhanced lea ning, web-based lea ning, and lea ning managemen sys ems. VLEs a e con-
side ed o be a o m o e-lea ning because hey a e used as a wo-way communica ion
be ween s uden s and hei u o s, o be ween di e en lea ne s. As a o m o e-lea ning
sys em, VLEs can suppo bo h blended and online (dis ance) lea ning. Howe e , o
he pu pose o his s udy, a VLE is conside ed o be an ICT-enabled sys em p o iding
suppo o ace- o- ace lea ning o on-campus s uden s. I is used o p o ide lec u e
no es and p esen a ions (be o e and a e he ac ual ace- o- ace lec u es), addi ional lea n-
ing ma e ials, assignmen s, eedbacks, use ul web links, g ades, discussion boa ds, and
communica ion among s uden s (and wi h u o s), among o he s (Halawi, Pi es and
McCa hy, 2009). Examples o VLEs cu en ly used in a ious educa ional ins i u ions
a e Blackboa d, WebCT, Moodle, Desi e2Lea n and eCollege. Ne e heless, as a esul
o he ac ha he e m e-lea ning is mo e comp ehensi e han he e m VLE, li e a u e
on he o me is mo e commonly ound.
Womble (2008) emphasised he need o explo a o y esea ch e o s in o de o
de e mine he use ulness o e-lea ning sys ems. This need is u he emphasised by
highe educa ion ins i u ions’ g adual mo emen away om he in o ma ion ans e
mode owa ds a mo e s uden -cen ed lea ning ocus (Po e and Johns on, 2006) ha
adop s a blended lea ning app oach, a combina ion o adi ional ace- o- ace eaching
me hods and e-lea ning sys ems.
446 R. Lo
´pez Ga i a and K. Omo eso
This cu en s udy in es iga es he pe cei ed use ulness o he VLE as an augmen ing
ool o enhance ace- o- ace lea ning app oaches wi hin he con ex o accoun ing edu-
ca ion a unde g adua e le el.In he wo Eu opean uni e si ies om which esea ch
da a we e collec ed, VLEs a e used o p o ide module in o ma ion, lec u e no es, assign-
men s, eedbacks, use ul web links, g ades, discussion boa ds and online discussions,
making announcemen s, submi ing and g ading assignmen s, accessing esul s and eed-
backs, among o he s. The s udy also p esen s a compa a i e analysis be ween accoun ing
s uden s om wo uni e si ies (in Spain and England) in ela ion o hei use o he VLE
and i s pe cei ed use ulness in hei lea ning ac i i ies, using he con ingency heo y o
educa ion, a no el y in e-lea ning esea ch. I also conside s s uden s’ p e e ence o he
VLE compa ed o ace- o- ace lea ning and he ac o s in luencing his p e e ence. The
emainde o his pape is o ganised as ollows. In he nex sec ion, he heo e ical ame-
wo k adop ed in he s udy is discussed. Sec ion 3 p esen s a e iew o p e ious li e a u e
on echnology-enhanced lea ning. The ou h sec ion discusses he esea ch design and
me hods, while he i h sec ion p esen s and discusses he esul s o he s udy’s indings.
Sec ion 6 highligh s he implica ions o he indings o accoun ing educa ion, and he con-
cluding sec ion p esen s a summa y o he s udy, i s limi a ions and likely a eas o u u e
esea ch.
2. Theo e ical F amewo k: The Con ingency Theo y o Educa ion
Con ingency heo y was adop ed in he ealm o educa ion esea ch as a back as he la e
1960s (De and Gaba o, 1972). Hi he o, he heo y had been a pu e o ganisa ional heo y
used o explain o ganisa ional di e en ia ion and in eg a ion h ough en i onmen al
ac o s (Law ence and Lo sch, 1967). In he con ex o an o ganisa ion, he heo y dis-
cou ages manage s om sea ching o uni e sal solu ions and peddling panaceas
(Wood, 1979). D awing on his no ion, Goodnow (1982, p. 341) de eloped a concep ual
amewo k o de e mining he app op ia eness o a ious educa ional me hodologies,
which will discou age educa o s om swi ching om one me hodology o ano he ‘and
ecognize ha he bes me hodology is con ingen upon he ci cums ances’.
Con ingency heo y has been adop ed in educa ional con ex s pa icula ly in s udying
school sys ems as complex o ganisa ions (De and Gaba o, 1972). The heo y can be
used o explain s uc u al and p ocess di e ences among educa ional ins i u ions in
ela ion o hei ope a ing social, economic and echnological en i onmen s. Simila ly,
i is no uncommon o see he heo y being adop ed in echnology- ela ed li e a u e o
discuss he ela i e use ulness and he e ec i eness o echnology-based sys ems
(Sabhe wal and King, 1992; Xiao, Dyson and Powell, 1996; Khazanchi, 2005; Lich en ha-
le , 2005; Omo eso, Pa el and Sco , 2007).
As his cu en s udy seeks o examine he pe cei ed use ulness o echnology (VLE)
wi hin wo educa ional ins i u ions loca ed in wo di e en Eu opean coun ies, he con-
ingency heo y o educa ion is conside ed he mos app op ia e amewo k h ough
which o gain an unde s anding ha he na u e o he en i onmen in which an educa ional
ins i u ion is si ua ed can ha e a conside able bea ing on lea ne s’ pe cep ions o he
use ulness o VLEs. The heo y is also used o de e mine he ac o s ha could in luence
s uden s’ p e e ence o he VLE compa ed o ace- o- ace lea ning.
3. Li e a u e Re iew
As no ed ea lie , he e is a pauci y o esea ch on he use ulness (o impac ) o VLEs on
s uden s’ lea ning in he cu en li e a u e. Ra he , he e is a g ea e le el o ocus on
Pe cep ions o he Use ulness o Vi ual Lea ning En i onmen s 447
gene al e-lea ning sys ems compa ed o VLEs, due o he o me being a mo e comp ehen-
si e e m. Thus, his sec ion e iews ele an s udies ha cu en ly exis on he use o
e-lea ning and VLEs in highe educa ion. The e iew is di ided in o h ee a eas: s udies
ha compa e e-lea ning wi h ace- o- ace-lea ning, s udies ha ocus on he use ulness
o e-lea ning, and s udies ha concen a e on he use o e-lea ning in he accoun ing
subjec a ea. The las subsec ion explains how he main esea ch ques ions o he s udy
we e de i ed om he gaps iden i ied in he cu en body o knowledge e iewed in he
h ee p e ious subsec ions.
3.1 Compa ing E-Lea ning wi h Face- o-Face Lea ning
Henning and Schnu (2009) conduc ed an empi ical s udy compa ing an e-lea ning sys em
g oup and a adi ional lea ning sys em g oup wi hin medical educa ion. They s a ed ha
al hough bo h g oups exhibi ‘a signi ican knowledge gain’ o e hei en y knowledge,
his knowledge gain is, on a e age, wice as g ea o he e-lea ning g oup han o he a-
di ional lea ne s. Besides, none o he pa icipan s s udying h ough he compu e ailed
hei Con inuing Medical Educa ion es , whe eas he ailu e a e o hose lea ning
om p in ed ma e a e aged 20%. In addi ion, he objec i e measu emen was sup-
plemen ed by a subjec i e sel -assessmen o he pa icipan s, lending suppo o he con-
clusion ha e-lea ning has a highe e iciency. Simila ly, ocusing on Business and
Enginee ing s uden s o an Ame ican uni e si y, Ani sal e al. (2008) in es iga ed he
ole o pe sonali y ai s in e alua ing he cou se a ibu es o online cou ses and adi ional
ace- o- ace cou ses. Ani sal e al. (2008) concluded ha , while online s uden s we e mo e
emo ionally s able, on-g ound s uden s we e mo e ex o e ed. Ne e heless, he gene ali-
sabili y o Henning and Schnu ’s (2009) and Ani sal e al.’s (2008) conclusions is deba-
able in he ligh o o he simila s udies. Fo example, Piccoli, Ahmad and I es (2001)
in es iga ed he e ec i eness o a web-based VLE in basic IT skills aining in unde -
g adua e educa ion and ound ha , compa ed o he adi ional ace- o- ace me hod,
he e we e no signi ican di e ences be ween s uden s’ pe o mance and sa is ac ion
le els unde he wo me hods.
Fu he mo e, based on he iews o a c oss-sec ion o MBA s uden s and g adua es a an
Ame ican uni e si y, D ago e al. (2005) a emp ed o dispel some my hs ela ing o
e-lea ning wi hin he con ex o online educa ion. These my hs include: s uden isola ion,
a high p opensi y o d op ou , he di icul y o de eloping ce ain skills online, a lack o
app op ia e lea ning s yles, and he lack o app op ia e eaching s yles. In dispelling
hese my hs, hey concluded ha he quali y and e ec i eness o online educa ion is
simila i no highe han he adi ional ace- o- ace sys em. Howe e , in o de o de e -
mine c i ical success ac o s in online educa ion, Vole y and Lo d (2000) su eyed 47
online managemen cou se s uden s using he WebCT in an Aus alian uni e si y. The
s udy iden i ied h ee ac o s – echnology (ease o access and na iga ion), he ins uc o
(compe ence and a i ude), and s uden s’ p e ious expe ience o echnology use – as being
c i ical o he success o online educa ion. In addi ion he s udy concluded ha ‘ he lec u e
will con inue o play a cen al ole in online educa ion, albei his o he ole will become
one o a lea ning ca alys and knowledge na iga o ’ (Vole y and Lo d, 2000, p. 216).
3.2 The Use ulness o E-Lea ning
Some ea lie w i e s on e-lea ning ha e ocused on he ole o ce ain psychological
ac o s in he assessmen o e-lea ning ools. These ac o s included s uden s’ cogni i e
need (Peng, 2009), a i udes and pe cep ions (Tanne , Nose and To a o, 2009). Based
448 R. Lo
´pez Ga i a and K. Omo eso

on esponses om 61 Financial Accoun ing s uden s in an Ame ican uni e si y, Peng
(2009) examined he e ec s o s uden s’ cogni i e need, compu e e icacy and pe cep ion
on hei pe o mance in an online accoun ing homewo k sys em. Peng’s s udy ound ha
lea ne s’ in insic mo i a ion and compu e e icacy do de e mine hei pe cep ion o he
use ulness o online homewo k sys ems in an accoun ing cou se. Also, wi hin he con ex
o wo o he Ame ican uni e si ies, Tanne , Nose and To a o (2009) compa ed he a i-
udes and pe cep ions o business acul y membe s and hose o hei unde g adua e s u-
den s in ela ion o online lea ning. Tanne , Nose and To a o’s s udy ound di e ences
in he pe cep ions o he wo g oups (as s uden s’ pe cep ions a e signi ican ly mo e
a ou able han hose o acul y membe s), and ecommended ha ins i u ions planning
o adop online lea ning should de i e some guidance om hese indings in o de o maxi-
mise he ou comes o s uden s’ online lea ning expe ience.
Ne e heless, he e ec i eness o he e-lea ning me hod has been widely deba ed. Fo
example, Go mley e al. (2009) s a ed ha he e ec i eness o e-lea ning has been di icul
o quan i y and ha he e ha e been conce ns ha such educa ional ac i i ies may be
d i en mo e by no el y han pedagogical e idence. Acco ding o Go mley e al. (2009),
i is necessa y o e lec on his issue while iden i ying he s eng hs and weaknesses o
his sys em o possible u u e imp o emen s. Along he same line o a gumen , Lo e
and F y (2006) s a ed ha , i i is accep ed ha he e is a need o inco po a e new echnol-
ogies in o he class oom, i ual o o he wise, i is c i ical o conside hei impac on he
eaching-lea ning en i onmen om he s uden s’ pe spec i es. The ollowing ep esen
some o he posi i e consequences o using i ual esou ces o eaching, as ob ained
om he cu en li e a u e.
Fi s , he ela ionship be ween ins uc o s and lea ne s becomes mo e indi idual. The
use o e-lea ning allows indi idual con ac wi h he ins uc o h ough he use o speci ic
so wa e (e.g. WebCT, Moodle, Blackboa d, e c.). In he same way, i becomes easie o
he lea ne o access online u o ials. Fo example, McKeough (2009) indica ed ha online
u o ials gi e lea ne s mo e ime o ead he necessa y ex s in a lexible way. Feedback
be ween ins uc o s and lea ne s is also inc eased. The ins uc o can gi e o ma i e
assessmen eedback, which impac s upon he quali y o he inal ou pu (summa i e
assessmen s). Secondly, dis ance p oblems a e elimina ed as i ual eaching pe mi s lea -
ne s o lis en o he lec u es, he eby emo ing he need o a end classes comple ely
(Sawaan, 2006; Cha opadhyay and Sum all, 2007).
Thi dly, e-lea ning imp o es he lexibili y o wo king hou s o bo h s uden s and ea-
che s, as hey a e able o manage hei ime mo e e ec i ely. They can decide how and
when o ca y ou hei ac i i ies and ake g ea e con ol o hei own lea ning ou side
class ime (Po e and Johns on, 2006). Some imes, as a consequence o lexible
wo king hou s, s uden s can combine s udy and paid employmen and hus ob ain he
job expe ience necessa y o enhance hei cu iculum i ae and ca ee de elopmen . In
addi ion, Hameed e al. (2007) examined he e ec i eness and e iciency o e-lea ning
sys ems when ope a ed in a web pla o m en i onmen such as VLEs and concluded
ha such sys ems o e ‘ he mos lexible and scalable ou e o e-lea ning’.
Fou hly, lea ne s assume a mo e ac i e ole. Lea ne s a e no only ecipien s o in o -
ma ion, as usually happens in adi ional ace- o- ace lec u es, bu hey also ake an ac i e
pa in he lea ning p ocess. So, al hough a ‘ i ual expe ience’ does no eplace he e i-
cacy o li e lea ning expe iences, he combina ion o media, including ideo, in e ac i e
and con en cons uc ed in a ca e ully conside ed en i onmen , o e s oppo uni ies o
imp o e he lea ning expe iences o s uden s in la ge coho s (S anley and Edwa ds,
2005).
Pe cep ions o he Use ulness o Vi ual Lea ning En i onmen s 449
Fi hly, eaching cos s can be educed, as he educ ion in he numbe o key lec u es
dec eases he cos s o elec ici y, main enance and ma e ials, among o he s (Ligh ne
and Olson, 2001; Sawaan, 2006; Halawi, Pi es and McCa hy, 2009). Finally, o he
bene i s o VLEs in he li e a u e include imp o ing lea ne s’ achie emen s and a i udes
owa ds lea ning (Hil z, 1995; Maki e al., 2000) and imp o ing lea ne s’ e alua ion o
hei lea ning expe ience (Ala i, 1994).
A combina ion o all hese posi i e consequences will culmina e in imp o ed lea ning
quali y. Howe e , he use (o , pe haps some imes, he abuse) o i ual esou ces o each-
ing can also lead o he ollowing nega i e consequences, as sugges ed by p e ious s udies.
Fi s , he eaching ela ionship be ween ins uc o s and lea ne s can become impe sonal.
The e is no a ace- o- ace ela ionship because all he con ac is h ough he compu e ,
so he ela ionship becomes colde . In many cases, lea ne s p e e a combina ion o
ace- o- ace educa ion and online lea ning (Reynolds, Rice and Uddin, 2007; B aeckman,
Fieuw and Van Bogae , 2008). In he absence o such a combina ion, e-lea ning ends o
lead o lea ne s’ eelings o isola ion due o he absence o ‘elemen s o immediacy’ such
as eye con ac , smiling and ocal exp essions (B own 1996; Handy, 2005), lea ne s’ eel-
ings o us a ion, anxie y and con usion (Ha a and Kling, 2000) and lea ne s’ educed
in e es in he subjec ma e (Maki e al., 2000).
Secondly, echnical ailu es can some imes occu . I is a eali y ha compu e s do no
wo k all he ime. This could be due o a so wa e p oblem, a connec ion p oblem o
he una ailabili y o log on access o he In e ne . In his case, no mally, i is necessa y
o wai o he p oblem o be sol ed. In a esea ch s udy conduc ed by Ligh ne and
Olson (2001), s uden s exp essed conce n ha he e we e s ill cases o dis up ed ideo
o audio connec ions, and some s uden s explici ly iden i ied ‘ echnical p oblems’ as
being a di icul y.
Thi dly, passi e a i udes on he pa o he lea ne can be encou aged. S uden s need o
be mo i a ed in o de o inc ease hei a en ion in he oom, o ask ques ions o he
eache , o wo k in g oups, and o lea n e ec i ely. Thus, e-lea ning s uden s need o be
sel -di ec ed and mo i a ed and o display su icien sel -discipline. Fo his eason,
many in es iga ions conside s uden s’ pa icipa ion and mo i a ion as being an impo an
ac o o e-lea ning success (Rao and Walsh, 2000; Lo e and F y, 2006; Hussin, Bunya i
and Hussin, 2009). Finally, e-lea ning can lead o an inadequa e pedagogical s uc u e,
which will esul in a compulso y lea ning si ua ion. A compulso y lea ning si ua ion
occu s when a echnology is designed o suppo a speci ic lea ning model ha may no
be cong uen wi h he lea ne ’s epis emological belie s abou how lea ning should occu
(Ve mun , 1998).
Despi e he abo e nega i e consequences, Jalobeanu (2003) s a ed ha some iden -
i ied obs acles, such as hose ela ing o managemen , echnology, communica ion
and expense, can all be o e come o c ea e a powe ul lea ning en i onmen . Jalobeanu
(2003) emphasised ha ins uc o s mus unde s and ha i is hei ha d wo k and
engagemen ha will be necessa y o o e come hese obs acles. In he same way,
Wol e (2001) ad oca ed ha eaching on he web is an a and ha only by applying
ha d wo k, igo ous esea ch, and imagina ion o ha a willwec ea eawo ldclass
Wo ld Wide Web. Simila ly, and, mo e speci ically, Handy (2005) emphasised he
need o al e na i e eaching me hods in accoun ing ha could include simula ions
and he c ea i e use o echnology. Acco ding o Handy (2005, p. 18), ‘when e alua ing
hese new me hods o p esen ing accoun ing concep s, accoun ing educa o s should
conside ins uc ional me hods’ impac on s uden s’ lea ning, as well as s uden s’ pe -
cep ion o hei lea ning’.
450 R. Lo
´pez Ga i a and K. Omo eso
3.3 E-Lea ning in Accoun ing
In he wake o hese new de elopmen s, di e en esea che s ha e ocused hei e o s on
he use and/o impac o e-lea ning on ce ain business subjec s/cou ses. Examples o such
subjec s include Ma ke ing (Hansen, 2008); Ope a ions Managemen (G easley, Benne
and G easley, 2004); MBA S a is ics (G andzol, 2004); and In e na ional Business Edu-
ca ion (Smi h and Duus, 2001). Howe e , e y ew s udies a e a ailable in he cu en
body o li e a u e on e-lea ning and accoun ing (see Handy, 2005; Lo e and F y, 2006,
Anakwe, 2008; Wells, De Lange and Fiege , 2008). Fo example, Handy (2005) ound
a posi i e lea ning expe ience om s uden s lea ning inancial accoun ing h ough compu-
e ised u o ial sys ems. Using a a ie y o quali a i e echniques o ob ain da a om s u-
den s a an Ame ican uni e si y, Handy iden i ied he signi icance o s uden s’ a i ude
owa ds compu e -based lea ning and hei pe cep ion o ‘social p esence’ in compu e -
media ed lea ning me hods.
Simila ly, Lo e and F y (2006) a gued, based on da a om UK i s -yea accoun ing unde -
g adua es, ha s uden s pe cei ed u o s o be using he VLE as an ‘online ex book’ o a
‘sa e y ne ’ a he han a supplemen a y ool o add alue o hei lea ning. Also, based on
da a collec ed om unde g adua e accoun ing s uden s in New Zealand, Wells, De Lange
and Fiege (2008) examined accoun ing s uden s’ use o he VLE ( he Blackboa d) as a lea n-
ing aid. The s udy’s indings indica ed ha , al hough s uden s we e en husias ic abou he use
o he Blackboa d, hey we e no ye eady o engage in wo-way online ac i i ies.
Basioudis and de Lange (2009) examined he impac o VLE’s design ea u es (such as
announcemen s, deli e y o lec u e no es, online assessmen s, and online cha s) on he
eaching and lea ning e ec i eness o unde g adua e accoun ing s uden s. The s udy
ound ha unde g adua e accoun ing s uden s’ pa icipa ion and men al e o s (as
subse s o mo i a ion) in he lea ning p ocess a e enhanced by hese design ea u es.
The s uden s we e also ound o be sa is ied wi h he design ea u es. Simila ly, in a
c oss-coun y s udy ha in ol ed unde g adua e accoun ing s uden s om Aus alia,
New Zealand and he UK, Basioudis e al. (2012) assessed he pe cep ions o s uden s
on he design ea u es o wo ypes o VLEs ( he Blackboa d and he WebCT) in eaching
unde g adua e accoun ing s uden s in he h ee coun ies. The s udy concluded ha ,
ega dless o cul u al di e ences inhe en in hei di e en coun ies o s udy, s uden s
a e sa is ied wi h he use o VLEs, pa icula ly in he aspec s o lec u e no es, bulle in
boa ds and discussion o ums.
3.4 Resea ch Ques ions
I can be obse ed om he o egoing e iew o ele an li e a u e ha he e is a dea h o
esea ch on he use o e-lea ning and VLEs in accoun ing as a discipline. A ailable s udies
ha ocused on accoun ing ha e only conside ed inancial accoun ing modules augh a
ei he i s - o second-yea unde g adua e le els (Handy, 2005; Basioudis and de Lange,
2009; Basioudis e al., 2012). Howe e , inal-yea accoun ing s uden s a e expec ed o
ha e he iches expe ience o VLEs, ha ing used hese ools h oughou hei unde g adu-
a e s udies, and esponses om his g oup o s uden s a e expec ed o p oduce be e
quali y esul s compa ed o hose om i s - and second-yea s uden s. Hence, his
cu en s udy assesses inal-yea accoun ing s uden s’ pe cep ions o he use o VLEs in
all hei accoun ing modules.
Fu he mo e, as no ed ea lie , Peng’s (2009) s udy examined he e ec s o s uden s’ cog-
ni i e need, compu e e icacy, and pe cep ions on hei pe o mance, bu his s udy me ely
ocusedonanonlineaccoun inghomewo ksys em a he hanon heen i ee-lea ning
Pe cep ions o he Use ulness o Vi ual Lea ning En i onmen s 451
sys em o a g oup o accoun ing s uden s. The cu en s udy he e o e examines how inal-
yea unde g adua e accoun ing s uden s’ use o VLEs impac s on hei cogni i e skills. Fo
he pu pose o his s udy, cogni i e skills a e in e p e ed in he ligh o he six ca ego ies o
Bloom’s 1956 cogni i e axonomy (which comp ises knowledge, comp ehension, appli-
ca ion, analysis, syn hesis and e alua ion) wi hin accoun ing educa ion. Finally, his s udy
adop s he con ingency heo y o educa ion o e alua e he pe cep ion o VLE use in
se e al a eas o accoun ing by s uden s s udying in wo Eu opean coun ies, Spain and
England. Speci ically, he s udy aims o answe he ollowing key esea ch ques ions (RQs).
RQ1: Is he pe cep ion o he use ulness o VLE di e en be ween unde g adua e accoun ing
s uden s in Spain and hose in England?
RQ2: Do ce ain con ex ual ac o s in luence unde g adua e accoun ing s uden s’ p e e ences
be ween lea ning h ough VLE acili ies and ace- o- ace lea ning?
To be able o p o ide answe s o hese esea ch ques ions, app op ia e da a collec ion and analy-
sis me hods we e de eloped and applied. These me hods a e p esen ed in Sec ion 4, below.
4. Resea ch Design and Me hod
Spain and England we e selec ed o his s udy because he wo coun ies’ le els o
echnological de elopmen as well as accoun ing educa ion a e simila . E idence om
he li e a u e indica es ha bo h Spanish and English uni e si ies ha e adop ed VLEs in
hei eaching and lea ning ac i i ies (see G easley, Benne and G easley, 2004; Lo e
and F y, 2006; Gonzalez and Hassall, 2009). Also, Accoun ing is being s udied a
deg ee le els in bo h coun ies. The s uden s used in his esea ch we e inal-yea unde -
g adua e s uden s s udying o a deg ee in Accoun ing in bo h Uni e si y A in Spain and
Uni e si y B in England du ing he 2009/2010 academic session. The inal-yea s uden s
we e chosen because hey would ha e aken he maximum numbe o accoun ing modules
possible a he ime o collec ing he da a.
In bo h he English and Spanish uni e si ies om which esea ch da a we e collec ed,
VLEs we e used as complemen a y ools o enhance he wide eaching-lea ning en i on-
men . The wo uni e si ies p o ide a VLE (in he o ms o WebCT in Uni e si y A and
Blackboa d in Uni e si y B) o all he modules on all he p og ammes hey un. These
acili ies a e accessible o all eaching s a and s uden s h ough hei unique use names
and passwo ds. In he wo Eu opean uni e si ies VLEs a e used o p o ide module in o -
ma ion, lec u e no es, assignmen s, eedbacks, use ul web links, g ades, discussion boa ds
and online discussions, making announcemen s, submi ing and g ading assignmen s,
accessing esul s, and eedbacks, among o he s.
The s udy adop ed a quan i a i e app oach o da a collec ion and analysis. A ques ion-
nai e was designed, based on he esea ch objec i es and d awing on he esea ch ins u-
men s used in simila p e ious s udies by Vole y and Lo d (2000) and Halawi, Pi es and
McCa hy (2009), which we e adminis e ed in Aus alia and he USA, espec i ely. The
ques ionnai e was pilo ed wi h a selec ed g oup o inal-yea unde g adua e accoun ing
s uden s in bo h uni e si ies and, based on he ou come o his pilo s udy, he ques ion-
nai e was ine- uned o enhance i s cla i y and e ec i eness. The inal ques ionnai e
(see Appendix) con ained 44 i ems (ques ions) unde six sec ions, as shown in Table 1.
The sec ion on demog aphic in o ma ion was included in o de o examine he back-
g ound cha ac e is ics o he sample. I ems included unde his sec ion we e esponden s’
gende , age and uni e si y o s udy, and hese i ems we e used as independen a iables o
de e mine whe he o no di e ences in s uden s’ cha ac e is ics may a ec hei esponses
o o he i ems in he ques ionnai e.
452 R. Lo
´pez Ga i a and K. Omo eso
ha e ully emb aced and a e happy wi h he VLE in hei lea ning ac i i ies. Added o
hese, his s udy’s esul s add o he ea lie indings ha suppo and ad oca e he impo -
ance o VLEs in highe educa ion (Ala i, 1994; S anley and Edwa ds, 2005; Hameed
e al., 2007; McKeough, 2009).
Ne e heless, his s udy’s esul s nega e Go mley e al.’s (2009) asse ion ha he
use ulness o e-lea ning is di icul o quan i y and ha he e ha e been conce ns
ha he use o e-lea ning may be d i en mo e by no el y han pedagogical e idence.
Simila ly, he esul s un con a y o Lo e and F y’s (2006) indings, which sugges ed
ha accoun ing s uden s pe cei ed he u o ’s use o he VLE ‘simply as an online ex -
book’. Al hough Lo e and F y’s s udy was ca ied ou in he UK, he di e ence
be ween i s indings and hose o he cu en s udy may be a ibu able o he ime
lag be ween he wo s udies. Pe haps, Lo e and F y’s s udy was conduc ed when he
use o VLE was ela i ely new o UK ins i u ions, as alluded o in he wo k o G easley,
Benne and G easley (2004). Besides, he e should be a conside able di e ence
be ween VLE usage by i s -yea s uden s (who a e conside ed new o highe edu-
ca ion), as used in Lo e and F y’s s udy, and inal-yea s uden s’ VLE usage, as
assessed in his cu en s udy.
6. Implica ions o he S udy’s Findings o Accoun ing Educa ion
The indings o his s udy p esen ce ain implica ions o accoun ing educa ion. Fi s ,
VLE cha ac e is ics iden i ied in he s udy (which include s uc u e o and mo i a ion
o lea ning) cons i u e impo an ac o s o accoun ing s uden s’ skills, knowledge and
o e all academic pe o mance. Hence, accoun ing educa o s should ensu e ha hese
cha ac e is ics a e adequa ely conside ed in cu en and u u e eaching and lea ning
sys ems. These ac o s ela e o cogni i e de elopmen in accoun ing educa ion a unde -
g adua e le el. Howe e , gi en ha he majo c i icism o accoun ing educa ion, pa icu-
la ly in Spain, has been he lack o de elopmen o pe sonal and in e pe sonal skills
(Gonzalez and Hassall, 2009), i is expec ed ha an inc ease in he use o VLEs in unde -
g adua e accoun ing educa ion should con ibu e o sol ing his issue.
Table 5. - es o dependen samples o s anda d p e e ence ac o s.
Fac o 8a. : P e e ence o he VLE as
opposed o ace- o- ace lea ning
Fac o 9a. Join p e e ence o he
VLE and ace- o- ace lea ning
To al sample
Mean 3.264 2429
Rela ed di e ences 0.835
(p alue) 11.8 (0.000)∗∗
Spain
Mean 3.310 2138
Rela ed di e ences 1.172
(p alue) 11.955 (0.000)∗∗
England
Mean 3.217 2720
Rela ed di e ences 0.497
(p alue) 5.490 (0.000)∗∗
∗∗Signi ican alues a p,0.01.
Pe cep ions o he Use ulness o Vi ual Lea ning En i onmen s 459

As he accoun ing p o ession begins o place a highe le el o emphasis, mo e han
be o e, on in o ma ion in e p e a ions a he han on o dina y da a manipula ions, i is
belie ed ha he use o VLEs could u he be expanded in o de o enhance he in e -
ac ions be ween accoun ing s uden s and lec u e s, a necessi y o deepe lea ning. The
signi icance o VLEs in accoun ing educa ion (as demons a ed in his s udy’s indings)
equi es ha accoun ing educa o s should ensu e a con inuous imp o emen in he ease
o use o VLE ools and echniques o e ec i e lea ning.
Fu he mo e, he s udy’s indings e eal ha he ex en o applica ion o VLE should be
con ingen upon he p e ailing en i onmen al and echnological ci cums ances o he uni-
e si ies in which s uden s a e based, as hese will ha e a di ec and signi ican bea ing on
hei le el o use and pe cei ed use ulness. In addi ion, as s uden s end o seek o make
g ea e use o VLE acili ies in hei lea ning while educa ional ins i u ions dwell on
en i onmen al and inancial conside a ions, his may lead o an ‘expec a ion gap’, as s u-
den s’ hopes may no ma ch hei ins i u ions’ abili ies and inclina ions.
7. Conclusions
As highe educa ion ins i u ions con inue o u ilise elec onic and web ools and echniques
in hei eaching and lea ning ac i i ies, his s udy e iews he cu en body o li e a u e on
he bene i s and d awbacks o e-lea ning and VLEs. I also examines he li e a u e on he
applica ion o VLEs wi hin he con ex o e-lea ning, in business educa ion gene ally and
in accoun ing in pa icula , wi h a iew o con ibu ing o knowledge and p ac ices in
accoun ing educa ion. In o de o achie e he s udy’s aim o assessing unde g adua e
accoun ing s uden s’ pe cep ions o VLE acili ies on hei lea ning expe iences, da a
we e collec ed om inal-yea unde g adua e accoun ing s uden s om Spain and
England ega ding hei use o VLE. Th ough he amewo k o he con ingency heo y
o educa ion, he s udy ound ha , al hough accoun ing s uden s in gene al a e eage o
mo e VLE p o isions o enhance hei lea ning expe ience, s uden s’ pe cep ions o he
use ulness o VLE sys ems is s ongly dependen upon hei coun y o s udy, due o
he signi ican di e ences be ween s uden s based in Spain and hose based in England
in i e ou o he se en VLE con ex ual ac o s. These i e con ex ual ac o s a e: s uden s’
pe cep ions o hei ela ionship wi h hei eache s h ough he VLE, he pe cei ed ease o
use o he VLE, he pe cei ed use ulness o VLE cha ac e is ics, s uden s’ sa is ac ion
wi h he pe o mance o he VLE, and hei pe cep ions o VLEs’ con ibu ion o hei
accoun ing knowledge and skills.
Despi e hese indings, ca e should be aken in in e p e ing he s udy’s esul s, as a mo e
obus s udy ha is longi udinal in na u e o in ol ing a highe numbe o ins i u ions om
a ious coun ies wi h a simila le el o echnological ad ancemen may p o ide mo e
gene alisable indings. I is possible ha he s udy migh ha e bene i ed mo e om a i-
angula ion app oach ha combined he quan i a i e da a wi h some in e iews o obse -
a ions. A eas o ocus ecommended o u u e esea ch include assessing he e ec s
o VLEs on accoun ing g adua es’ pe o mance in p o essional examina ions subsequen
o hei g adua ion, and examining VLEs’ impac on he lea ning expe ience o dis ance
lea ning accoun ing s uden s.
Acknowledgemen s
The au ho s would like o acknowledge he use ul sugges ions o hei colleagues a bo h
De Mon o Uni e si y, UK, and he Uni e si y o Se ille, Spain. We also app ecia e he
cons uc i e commen s o an Associa e Edi o and wo anonymous e e ees.
460 R. Lo
´pez Ga i a and K. Omo eso
No es
1
Sec ion 2 o he ques ionnai e is di ided in o wo pa s. The i s pa (i ems 2a–2d) was analysed by a
desc ip i e analysis and he second pa (i ems 2e–2h) was in eg a ed in o a ac o analysis.
2
Demog aphic a iables and In e ne use a iables (i ems 1a–2d) a e excluded om ac o analysis because
hey ha e been examined by desc ip i e analysis in he p e ious sec ion.
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Appendix
Table A1. Ques ionnai e.
Sec ion I em
1ª Demog aphic in o ma ion
1a Gende Male Female
1b Age 17–20 21–25 26 and
abo e
1c Yea o s udy
1d Class o s uden ship Home EU O e seas
1e P og amme o s udy
1 Uni e si y o s udy
2ª In e ne use and acili ies
2a F om whe e do you access
he In e ne ?
Home Campus Bo h home
and
campus
In e ne
ca e
2b How many hou s a week do
you spend on he In e ne ?
0–5 h s 6–10 h s 11–15 h s 16 h s
and
abo e
2c How many hou s do you
spend on WebCT/
Blackboa d pe week?
0–5 h s 6–10 h s 11–15 h s 16 h s
and
abo e
2d How long ha e you been
using he WebCT/
Blackboa d?
1–2 y s 3–4 y s 5 y s and
abo e
S ongly
disag ee
Disag ee Nei he
disag ee
no ag ee
Ag ee S ongly
ag ee
2e I am sa is ied wi h my home
In e ne acili ies
123 4 5
2 I am sa is ied wi h my
uni e si y’s In e ne
acili ies
123 4 5
2g My access o he WebCT/
Blackboa d om ou side
he uni e si y is easy
123 4 5
2h The WebCT/Blackboa d
acili y is use - iendly
123 4 5
(Con inued)
Pe cep ions o he Use ulness o Vi ual Lea ning En i onmen s 463
Table A1. Con inued
Sec ion I em
3ª VLE use
3a The use o WebCT/
Blackboa d enhances my
in e ac ion wi h my
ins uc o
123 4 5
3b The use o WebCT/
Blackboa d enhances he
eedbacks I ge om my
ins uc o
123 4 5
3c The use o WebCT/
Blackboa d imp o es he
s uc u e o my lea ning
123 4 5
3d The use o WebCT/
Blackboa d is an
enjoyable way o lea ning
123 4 5
3e The use o he WebCT/
Blackboa d is a
mo i a ing way o
lea ning
123 4 5
3 The use o WebCT/
Blackboa d is pa icula ly
sui able o lea n
Accoun ing modules
123 4 5
4ª Cou se con en and use in e ace
4a I encoun e echnological
di icul ies in using
WebCT/Blackboa d
123 4 5
4b The s uc u e o na iga ion
o WebCT/Blackboa d is
easy o ollow
123 4 5
4c I ind lea ning ma e ials on
WebCT/Blackboa d
use ul
123 4 5
4d I ind WebCT/Blackboa d
use ul o accessing my
esul s
123 4 5
4e I ind WebCT/Blackboa d’s
email acili y use ul o
con ac ing my ins uc o
123 4 5
4 I ind WebCT/Blackboa d’s
email acili y use ul o
con ac ing my cou se
ma es
123 4 5
4g I ind WebCT/Blackboa d’s
discussion boa d acili y
use ul o my lea ning
123 4 5
(Con inued)
464 R. Lo
´pez Ga i a and K. Omo eso

Table A1. Con inued
Sec ion I em
4h I ind WebCT/Blackboa d’s
blog acili y use ul o my
lea ning
123 4 5
4i I ind he WebCT/
Blackboa d’s module
e alua ion acili y use ul
as a eedback mechanism
123 4 5
4j O e all, I am sa is ied wi h
my uni e si y’s e-
lea ning acili ies
123 4 5
4k O e all, he uni e si y’s e-
lea ning acili ies ha e
imp o ed my academic
pe o mance
123 4 5
5ª VLE and cogni i e skills
5a The use o WebCT/
Blackboa d has enhanced
my knowledge base
123 4 5
5b The use o WebCT/
Blackboa d has enhanced
my comp ehension abili y
123 4 5
5c The use o WebCT/
Blackboa d has enhanced
my p oblem-sol ing skills
123 4 5
5d The use o WebCT/
Blackboa d has enhanced
my analy ical skills
123 4 5
5e The use o WebCT/
Blackboa d has enhanced
my abili y o syn hesise
ideas
123 4 5
5 The use o WebCT/
Blackboa d has enhanced
my abili y o e alua e
issues
123 4 5
6ª Compa ison be ween lea ning h ough VLE and ace- o- ace lea ning
6a I p e e he VLE o ace- o-
ace lec u es
123 4 5
6b I p e e a mix o ace- o- ace
lec u e and VLE sys ems
123 4 5
6c I is easie o communica e
wi h my ins uc o wi h
he VLE sys em han wi h
he ace- o- ace sys em
123 4 5
6d I is easie o communica e
wi h my co-s uden s wi h
he VLE sys em han wi h
he ace- o- ace sys em
123 4 5
(Con inued)
Pe cep ions o he Use ulness o Vi ual Lea ning En i onmen s 465
Table A1. Con inued
Sec ion I em
6e I lea n be e wi h he VLE
sys em han wi h he ace-
o- ace sys em
123 4 5
6 Lea ning wi h he VLE
sys em akes a lesse ime
han lea ning wi h he
ace- o- ace sys em
123 4 5
6g I am be e mo i a ed wi h
he VLE sys em han wi h
he ace- o- ace lea ning
sys em
123 4 5
466 R. Lo
´pez Ga i a and K. Omo eso