Does students' commuting influence their academic performance?

Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to empirically assess the influence of commuting distance (duration) on accounting students' academic performance at one of the business colleges in Kuwait.

Design/methodology/approach

A linear regression model (OLS), correlation and t-test analysis using a sample of 237 accounting students enrolled before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were used to test the study's hypotheses.

Findings

The results indicate that there was a statistically significant association between accounting students' commuting distance and their academic performance before the pandemic, but not during the pandemic, which explains the significant influence of commuting distance on traditional classroom learning but not on remote learning. The study concludes by considering the implications of these findings and suggesting avenues for future academic research.

Practical implications

This study makes a significant contribution to the existing knowledge in the area of students' performance by providing empirical evidence to the theoretical expectation of the influence of students' commuting distance on the academic performance of accounting students.

Originality/value

The value of this study is that it significantly contributes to the existing accounting education literature by empirically supporting the theoretical expectation of the influence of commuting distance on accounting students' academic performance.

Citation

Alanzi, K.A. and Alfraih, M.M. (2023), "Does students' commuting influence their academic performance?", Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, Vol. 15 No. 5, pp. 1706-1716. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-07-2022-0211