Learning Accounting in Italy: An Empirical Inquiry into Student Voice

Students’ perspective on learning accounting is an important factor to improve teaching approach and to develop a good learning path. This paper address a research gap on learning accounting in Italian Upper Secondary School (USS) by analysing students’ perspective through a qualitative approach based on grounded theory. The paper presents research that employs the student-voice approach by analyzing 179 higher education students’ narratives about their experiences with learning accounting during USS. Content analysis highlighted four material spheres of interest: characteristics of an effective teacher; specificity of learning accounting; work in class; and evaluation, experienced as a critical phase of learning process. The research is exploratory, but provides some first evidence that is useful for teacher training and developing further research. Although the research focuses in the Italian context, it crosses the national border, and can be useful to a broader debate on accounting education.