ABSTRACT

Critical thinking is considered a vital skill in the twenty-first century workforce, yet it is still viewed as an under-developed skill in accounting students. This exploratory study set out to explore the critical thinking competencies required of accounting students. To achieve this, a qualitative research methodology was followed by firstly identifying critical thinking competencies as part of a review of the literature. Terms, concepts, skills, attributes, dispositions and abilities needed for critical thinking in general were identified from seminal works on critical thinking, and then progressively analysed by the researchers to group similar concepts. Secondly, the principles of interactive qualitative analysis (IQA) were applied to obtain participants’ views on the critical thinking competencies required of accounting students. This study provides a comprehensive critical thinking competency framework suitable for the changing environment in which accountants need to function to remain relevant in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

摘要

批判性思维被认为是 21 世纪劳动力的一项重要技能，但它仍然被视为会计学生的一项欠发达的技能。这项探索性研究旨在探索会计专业学生所需的批判性思维能力。为实现这一目标，首先确定批判性思维能力，作为文献综述的一部分，采用定性研究方法。从批判性思维的开创性著作中确定一般批判性思维所需的术语、概念、技能、属性、性格和能力，然后由研究人员逐步分析以将相似的概念分组。其次，应用交互式定性分析（IQA）的原则来获得参与者对会计学生所需的批判性思维能力的看法。