PREFERRED LEARNING APPROACHES AMONG ACCOUNTING STUDENTS: DURING AND AFTER COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected education systems worldwide, leading to the near-total closure of schools, universities, and colleges. Academic institutions have been forced to develop innovative ways to teach students in a hybrid, online, or socially remote environment. During the pandemic, several educational technologies have made it possible to establish highly effective, student-centered learning environments that can reach students remotely and minimise the disturbance of the teaching and learning process. The preferred learning strategies accounting students use at a Malaysian MARA Professional College during and after the COVID-19 pandemic are examined. A total of 180 accounting students completed questionnaires that served as the data source for this study. The finding shows that during the COVID-19 epidemic, students responded that more synchronous learning was their preferred method of instruction. However, with the COVID-19 outbreak, blended learning emerged as the most crucial online learning strategy. The results also show that students ranked synchronous learning as their top choice during the pandemic, whereas the simulation approach was ranked last. Following the epidemic, students report that blended learning has risen to the top and traditional learning has fallen to the bottom. The results offer a deeper comprehension of the possibilities for a learning strategy that works for the students, irrespective of their preferred learning style.