The epistemological beliefs of pre-professional accounting students: An analysis utilizing the Epistemological Beliefs Inventory

Critics have suggested that characteristics of accounting education including the dominant research paradigm of academic accounting, positive economic science (PES), have negatively affected the development of important decision-making skills in pre-professional students. The purpose of this study was to measure and assess both accounting and non-accounting business students' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning. These epistemological beliefs are thought by educational psychologists to influence the development of unstructured decision-making skills. A survey instrument, the Epistemological Beliefs Inventory, was used in the experiments. Results indicated that contrary to expectations, accounting majors were significantly more sophisticated than non-accounting majors in at least two epistemological beliefs, certainty of knowledge and omniscient authority.