An examination of the factors affecting the performance of Management Accounting students at the Durban University of Technology

Abstract

The success of a module at a university of technology is measured by student performance. At the Durban University of Technology in the Department of Management Accounting, students in their second year of study struggle with conceptualising content in Cost Accounting two which affects their performance. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors which may impact on the performance of Cost Accounting two students and to determine if these factors have a significant association with a student’s performance in Cost Accounting two. Many studies have identified various factors which may influence students’ academic performance. For the purpose of this study, five factors that may affect student performance were identified and examined. The independent variables or factors identified were attendance, age, gender, grade 12 results and language. The dependent variable for this study was performance (in Cost Accounting two). In order to measure the performance of students included in the study, the percentage achieved in Cost Accounting two for the semester was used. Although studies have been conducted on student performance at universities across South Africa and around the world, limited studies were conducted on the performance of Cost Accounting two students within South Africa. The study aimed to identify the factors that affect the performance of Cost and Management Accounting students at a university of technology and the impact of those factors on performance. The study found that only student attendance has a positive impact on student performance in Cost Accounting two. The findings of this study may be useful to the Department of Management Accounting at the DUT and other universities of technology. It is hoped that the current study will be useful to other teachers of cost and management accounting at universities on which factors influence the academic achievement of students.