ENHANCING ACCOUNTING LEARNING EFFECTIVENESS AMONG DIPLOMA STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: A LITERATURE REVIEW OF VISUAL AND COGNITIVE PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/IJEPC.1163074Keywords:
Accounting Education, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cognitive Scaffolding, Higher Education, Visual PedagogyAbstract
The rising enrolment of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in post-secondary programs has amplified the demand for instructional methods tailored to neurodiverse cognitive styles, particularly within intellectually intensive fields like accounting. Although inclusive education has advanced in policy, many diploma-level accounting courses still depend predominantly on verbal exposition, abstract theoretical explanation, and generic procedural drills—approaches that may conflict with the distinctive processing patterns of learners on the autism spectrum. Autistic students commonly display strengths in visual thinking, systematic analysis, and adherence to structured tasks, yet often struggle when instruction is dense in language, reliant on inferred abstractions, or cognitively overloaded. This paper examines the potential of visual and cognitive instructional strategies to improve accounting learning outcomes for diploma students with ASD. Using a narrative literature review method, the study integrates recent scholarly contributions from 2020 to 2025 across autism education, cognitive learning theory, inclusive tertiary education, and accounting pedagogy. Results show that visual teaching tools such as flowcharts, transaction mapping with color cues, infographics, diagrams, and animated demonstrations substantially increase conceptual clarity and lessen symbolic opacity. Concurrently, cognitive supports such as chunking, sequenced task design, guided repetition, scaffolded worksheets, and structured reinforcement enhance procedural retention, ease working memory demands, bolster learner confidence, and facilitate task completion. The review contends that combining visual and cognitive methods is not merely an add-on accommodation but a fundamental pedagogical reconfiguration that renders accounting concepts cognitively accessible for autistic students. By linking autism-sensitive pedagogy with the technical requirements of accounting instruction, this paper offers a new conceptual perspective within the limited literature on neurodiverse participation in professional tertiary programs and proposes an inclusive pedagogical framework for empirical testing.
Downloads
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). American Psychiatric Publishing.
Ashcroft, R. J., & Lutfiyya, Z. M. (2023). Neurodiversity and inclusive higher education pedagogy: Rethinking instructional accessibility for cognitively diverse learners. Teaching in Higher Education, 28(6), 991–1008.
Bolado Peña, M. (2025). Technology-supported visual pedagogies for neurodiverse learners in inclusive classrooms. Education Sciences, 15(10), 200–214.
Byrne, M., & Flood, B. (2020). Exploring the learning challenges in introductory accounting education: Student cognition, abstraction, and procedural understanding. Journal of Accounting Education, 52, Article 100679.
Clouder, L., Karakus, M., Cinotti, A., Ferreyra, M. V., Fierros, G. A., & Rojo, P. (2020). Neurodiversity in higher education: A narrative synthesis. Higher Education, 80(4), 757–778. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00513-6
Davis, T., Goldstein, H., & McCoy, E. (2021). Executive functioning and academic adaptation among students with autism spectrum disorder in tertiary education. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 34(2), 135–149.
de Bruin, K. (2022). Supporting students with autism in higher education: Barriers, strategies and pedagogical implications. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 26(8), 789–804.
Fernández-Batanero, J. M., & Roman-Gravan, P. (2025). Inclusive pedagogical technologies for university students with autism spectrum disorder: A higher education review. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 22(1), 1–19.
Gelbar, N. W., Smith, I., & Reichow, B. (2020). Systematic review of articles describing the experiences and supports of individuals with autism enrolled in college and university programs. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50(10), 3555–3568.
Jackson, D., Michelson, G., & Munir, R. (2022). Developing professional competence in accounting education: Challenges for diverse learners in procedural disciplines. Accounting Education, 31(5), 482–500.
Johnson, R., White, S., & Brown, T. (2024). Cognitive overload and structured learning support among neurodiverse learners in higher education. Teaching in Higher Education, 29(3), 411–429.
Kapp, S. K. (2020). Autistic community and the neurodiversity movement: Stories from the frontline. Palgrave Macmillan.
Madaus, J. W. (2021). Academic accommodations and student success for learners with disabilities in postsecondary education. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 34(1), 5–18.
Paivio, A. (1991). Dual Coding Theory: Retrospect and Current Status. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 45(3), 255–287.
Roberts, E., & Birmingham, C. (2023). Visual instructional scaffolds and concept permanence for neurodiverse students. Educational Review, 75(4), 622–640.
Roman-Gravan, P., Fernández-Batanero, J. M., & Montenegro-Rueda, M. (2023). Digital and visual tools to enhance neurodiverse engagement in tertiary classrooms. Computers & Education Open, 4, Article 100118.
Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning. Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257–285.
Sweller, J., van Merriënboer, J. J. G., & Paas, F. G. W. C. (2020). Cognitive architecture and instructional design: Twenty years later. Educational Psychology Review, 32(2), 261–292.
Taylor, M., & Pazey, B. (2022). Postsecondary inclusion and academic participation of students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Inclusive Postsecondary Education, 4(1), 45–63.
Van Hees, V., Moyson, T., & Roeyers, H. (2021). Higher education experiences of students with autism spectrum disorder: Challenges, benefits, and support needs. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51(5), 1603–1616.
Williams, G. L., & Palmer, K. N. (2023). Structured pedagogical sequencing for cognitively diverse learners in technical subjects. Studies in Higher Education, 48(9), 1421–1438.
Zastudil, C., Bower, M., & Richards, D. (2025). Neurodiverse curriculum adaptation in tertiary education: A systematic review of current pedagogical trends. Computers & Education, 210, Article 104981.
Zhao, L., & Fan, H. (2025). Assessing the effectiveness of visual supports in fostering classroom engagement among students with autism spectrum disorder. International Journal of Innovative Research in Multidisciplinary Studies, 7(1), 44–58
