Are Accounting Students More Communication Apprehensive? An Empirical Study

• Published in: Tai Da Guan Li Lun Cong 2002-06, Vol.12 (2), p.143-179
• Main Authors: 杜榮瑞(Duh, Rong-ruey), 顏信輝(Yen, Sin-hui), 林娟娟(Lin, Judy Chuan-chuan)
• Format: Article
• Language: chi ; eng
• Subjects: Accounting; Accounting education; Communication apprehension; Extracurricular activities; Oral communication apprehension; Scopus; Self-selection; Students; TSSCI; University students; Verbal communication; Writing apprehension; 口頭溝通憂懼; 書寫憂懼; 會計教育; 溝通憂懼; 自我選擇
• ISSN: 1018-1601; 2410-2490

A recent report on management education in Taiwan indicates that one of the problems facing the field of accounting education is the poor performance of accounting students in interpersonal communication. In particular, this problem seems most prevalent in accounting majors (Management Education Report, 1998). This study examines the level of communication apprehension in accounting majors and compares it with the levels in students of two other business majors, business administration and information management. The results, based on the response of 1,806 management school students from nine universities across Taiwan, show that accounting majors have higher oral (not written) communication apprehension than business administration majors at the freshman level, but there is no significant difference at the senior level. The evidence seems to support the notion that students self-select among various business majors based on their confidence in oral communication. In addition, accounting education tends to reduce, not aggravate, students' oral communication apprehension. Gender differences were found only for oral communication apprehension, with females reporting higher apprehension, especially in meeting and public speaking domains. Finally, the level of written and oral communication apprehension exhibits a decreasing tendency from freshmen to seniors, but it cannot be attributed to students' ages. Participation in extracurricular activities and apposite teaching methods might reduce students' communication apprehension. Implications of these findings are discussed.