Assessment feedback in accounting at Australian universities: feedback as a thinking skill

Abstract

Courses, subjects and units in undergraduate accounting education in Australia may have high student numbers, diverse cohorts and managerial pressures that affect feedback practices. Students may focus on marks, ignore feedback comments and find critical feedback de-motivating. These influences may contribute to poor course experience questionnaire (CEQ) ratings of feedback by accounting graduates. A project to investigate assessment feedback commenced in September 2007. This project may find that feedback practices could be improved by re-conceptualising feedback as a part of formative assessment, part of a learning process. This paper reviews the literature as the preliminary stage in the research project to enhance assessment feedback practices in accounting education in Australia. Considering a range of theoretical propositions on pedagogy, perspectives, feedback, teacher conception, student approach and meta-cognition, we find support to position feedback as a thinking skill a priori. Accounting and finance academics will benefit from the collection and overview of theoretical constructs covering diverse components of the educational literature pertaining to feedback presented here.