Accounting and the Built Environment student: The introduction of simulated case studies to augment student learning

Suitable accounting knowledge is generally required for the day to day management of a business. For this reason it is common for undergraduate degrees to include a stand-alone subject for the development of the students’ accounting and business management skills. This research paper explores the effectiveness of introducing case studies into the class room environment as part of the students learning experience. The research methodology in this paper analyses results from six groups of students over consecutive years. The students were enrolled in a property or construction undergraduate degree. Three groups of students (groups 1, 2 and 5) were taught without any case study simulations; two groups (groups 3 and 4) were taught with integrated case studies relating to the built environment, and one group (group 6) was taught with part of their subject providing simulated case studies and partly no case studies. The results indicated a superior learning outcome, with outstanding results, and a higher pass rate for groups 3 and 4; group 6 results showed a trend for students being better motivated towards their learning experience, once case studies were introduced into the class room environment; and groups 1, 2 and 5 grappled with the difficulty of understanding accounting concepts.