| Many researchers agree that ethics play an important role in business and the accounting profession, as well as in academia, and has observed ostensible benefits of ethics education coverage in addressing moral issues. However, studies indicate that accounting students are not being adequately prepared to make ethical decisions and that their moral reasoning and decision-making may be influenced by the phenomenon of moral disengagement, resulting in immoral behavior. The current research explored knowledge gaps in the extant literature of moral disengagement by extending the application of the social cognitive theory to justify the need for ethics education with quantitative data. The specific problem addressed in this study was that accounting students have the propensity to morally disengage relative to the level of moral knowledge and preparation through ethics education, as they prepare to transition into the workforce. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational research was to examine the extent to which accounting students' propensity to morally disengage is related to their level of moral knowledge and preparation through ethics education, as they prepare to transition into the workforce. The sample was 130 undergraduate accounting students enrolled in a university accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Data were collected using a survey, which consisted of Detert et al.'s 24-item (ethical statements) modified version of Bandura et al.'s 32-item Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement Scale. The data were analyzed using linear and multiple linear regressions. The results of the regression analyses supported the null hypotheses that accounting students' level of moral preparation F(1,124) = 2.527, p = .114, as well as moral preparation and knowledge combined F(2,123) = 1.512, p = .225 through ethics education, did not significantly predict the propensity to morally disengage. However, accounting students' level of moral knowledge through ethics education significantly predicted the propensity to morally disengage, rejecting the null hypothesis, F(2,127) = 4.641, p = .011. Since moral knowledge accounted for a small amount of the variance in moral disengagement in this study, educators could contemplate additional factors that may explain the remaining variance in moral disengagement and ensure that these factors are considered in developing a robust ethics curriculum or courses as part of their efforts in preparing accounting students ethically to transition into the workforce. |
