Department
School of Accountancy
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Spring 3-1-2014
Abstract
This study investigates student perceptions of ten selected attributes embedded in faculty behavior. These attributes are classified as primary and secondary attributes. The 4 primary attributes include effective communication (ability to communicate information effectively), ability to combine knowledge and application in real world cases and examples, high level of knowledge in presented materials, and substantial business experience in the area taught. The 6 secondary attributes include active association with the business community, active participation in academic organizations, active participation in business organizations, extensive publication of business research in scientific/scholarly journals, extensive publication of business articles in practitioner/trade oriented journals, and the college or university degree from which the faculty earned their highest degree. This study also investigates potential difference in the emphasis placed on the ten attributes between the surveyed business students in both countries. Utilizing two samples (graduate and under graduate students) from business schools (at public, private, and proprietary universities) in the United States and in Cameroon, Africa, the surveyed students revealed stronger support for the primary attributes than for the secondary attributes. The results of this study also indicated that the ability to communicate effectively, the application of knowledge to real world cases, substantial business experience in the discipline area taught, and knowledge of the materials being presented are considered the most important attributes in assessing teaching effectiveness. While students in both countries have similar mean rankings of the selected ten attributes, they significantly differ in their ratings of six attributes: actively participates in academic organizations, publications in practice/trade journals, actively participates in practice related organizations, college from which the professor earned their highest degree, and association with the business community. Further investigation using exploratory factor analysis revealed that students in both countries have moderate agreement with the two component conceptualized model: the primary and secondary business faculty attributes.
Journal Title
International Journal of Education Research
Journal ISSN
1932-8443
Volume
9
Issue
1