Communication apprehension and maths anxiety as barriers to communication and numeracy skills development in accounting and business education
Abstract
Purpose
To establish the existence of barriers to communication and numeracy skills development and to establish the levels of these exhibited by accounting and business students at the commencement of their courses in higher education.
Design/methodology/approach
Uses questionnaires to establish the levels of communication apprehension (CA) and maths anxiety (MA) in students at the commencement of their accounting and business courses in higher education. Establishes the underlying factors that are influential in determining the levels of apprehension and anxiety in individual students. An analysis of the underlying demographic variables such as age, previous educational background, etc. is also undertaken.
Findings
Identifies the existence of high levels of CA in accounting students and MA in business studies students at the beginning of their courses.
Practical implications
Where high levels of CA in accounting students and MA in business studies students are shown to exist consideration must be given to relevant curriculum design and delivery, and the use of techniques designed to reduce apprehension/anxiety in the students concerned. Because the apprehension/anxiety is present on entry to higher education it may be that specific courses appear to be recruiting students whose perception of their longer term vocational skills requirements may be inappropriate to their chosen career area.
Originality/value
Identifies specific differences in the areas of CA and MA between differently focused vocational courses, which have syllabus overlap, within a business school.
Keywords
Citation
Joyce, J., Hassall, T., Luis Arquero Montaño, J. and Donoso Anes, J.A. (2006), "Communication apprehension and maths anxiety as barriers to communication and numeracy skills development in accounting and business education", Education + Training, Vol. 48 No. 6, pp. 454-464. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400910610692967
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2006, Emerald Group Publishing Limited