Abstract
The World Bank calls for the capacity development of developing countries due to those countries’ inherent socio-economic and political challenges. This has resulted in various calls to build the capacity of higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing countries, with a focus on North-South linkages, whereby the North refers to developed countries and the South refers to emerging or developing countries. Most of the studies on linkages between North-South institutions focus on research. Research links are thus the most widespread. More recently, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) called for capacity development of the accounting profession (of which accounting education is a key constituent) in developing countries. Notwithstanding this call, accounting scholarship affords scant attention to capacity development.
This study offers a perspective on capacity development through a different lens, with a focus on teaching capacity (within the accounting discipline) between institutions in the South. It is through the educators, on the teaching side, that capacity development has the propensity to impact the human capital of the students they teach and, ultimately, society at large through the building of strong universities able to compete in a global context. The aim of the study was to explore how the capacity development of accounting educators can be achieved to ensure the delivery of a quality programme, within a South-South teaching linkage.
To address the aim of the study, the study proceeded systematically to explain the process of capacity development by obtaining insight into capacity development and its relevant principles and frameworks to guide a South-South teaching linkage. The study reviewed capacity development operational procedures followed during a teaching linkage between a partner institution in the South and recipient institutions in the South. The study explored the higher education landscape to provide context to the environment in which educators deliver the academic programme. Lastly, the study explored accounting education best practices, to inform the delivery of a quality academic programme.
The study was conducted in two stages, employing a case study approach. Stage 1 utilised questionnaires, while Stage 2 collected data through semi-structured interviews. Stage 1 was designed to enable the researcher to gauge initial responses on capacity development, which informed Stage 2 of the data collection approach. Two cases – the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST) and the University of Venda (UNIVEN) – were purposively selected to show different perspectives on the same phenomenon. Both cases involved a South-South teaching linkage within
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the accounting discipline. The data collected from the two cases provided a rich and holistic understanding of the capacity development of accounting educators.
Drawing on the cases, the study identified avenues to develop the teaching capacity of accounting educators through a South-South teaching linkage, as offered through a staggered approach. Therefore, importing capacities from the North is not always necessary, as there are synergies and existing resources in developing countries to enable better contextually aligned capacity development. However, it must be mentioned that no intervention is a panacea to meet all teaching capacity development requirements.
When considering best practices within accounting education, this study found that the capacity development process aided recipient educators to inculcate professional skills using an array of interactive, student-centered delivery methods, and provided opportunities for recipient educators to involve practice in curriculum design and content. It was also evident that the South-South teaching linkage strengthened recipient educators’ existing capacities to tailor their academic programmes according to their unique contexts within a rapidly changing accounting education environment. Recipient educators also appeared to be moving towards the knowledge society, with several recipient educators furthering their academic qualifications. However, there is room for improvement in the capacity development process. Recipient educators should incorporate a student research component and further integration of core subjects, to enhance disciplinary inquiry and knowledge development in the academic programme. Business technologies are yet to be incorporated into the academic programme. The capacity development process must also address an understanding of the mandate of a HEI and the resultant role of an educator in not only meeting the needs of future employers and society but also scientific scholarship in its widest sense.
Capacity development is not a one-time event, it is a process occurring in a complex framework, which inevitably requires lifelong learning by recipients. Capacity development requires ongoing collaboration from the partner HEI. Moreover, capacity development is not only about the support and mentorship offered externally by the partner HEI, but also the support offered internally by the recipient HEI. The capacity development process requires recipient educators to engage with various platforms on best practices for accounting academic programmes, including, inter alia, academic journals, practice, educators at other well-developed HEIs, and other recipient educators. Therefore, even though the South-South teaching linkage may have been completed, the accounting education environment remains dynamic.
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The research makes several contributions to both theory and practice. Firstly, this research provides new insights into capacity development scholarship by considering a South-South teaching linkage, through the lens of recipient educators. In a deliberate move away from the dominant and unequal frameworks of North-South capacity development linkages, this study examined South-South linkages to showcase the synergies and alignment between partner and recipient institutions due to their existing in a similar contextual environment.
Secondly, this study extends prior research examining capacity development linkages at the traditional individual, organisational, and enabling environment levels (Lopes & Theisohn, 2003; Vincent-Lancrin, 2007; UNDP, 2009; Léautier & Mutahakana, 2012; Lucas, 2013; UNDG, 2017) by exploring capacity development within the context of higher education, with a focus on the accounting discipline. Specifically, this study identifies an extensive suite of accounting education best practices that influence recipient educators’ capacity to deliver a quality academic programme, namely: the professional body involvement in the academic programme, the teaching and research nexus; scholarship of students, the importance of developing professional skills for students; the profound impact of ICTS on the academic programme; and the use of English as the medium of instruction. It is anticipated that the higher education landscape’s dimension will provide an insightful basis for enhancing the understanding of capacity development with a teaching linkage.
Thirdly, this study extends accounting scholarship by examining the capacity development of the accounting profession in developing countries. Notwithstanding that IFAC has called for capacity development of the accounting profession (of which accounting education is a key constituent) in developing countries (IFAC, 2020), this is currently absent from accounting scholarship. In its exploration of a South-South teaching linkage, this study offers a crucial means to developing capacity in the accounting discipline in emerging markets. This study addresses the IFAC call (2020). In so doing, it elevates the challenges experienced by recipient accounting educators, which are unique to developing countries, as well as a suite of best practices that recipient educators should strive for to develop capacity in the context of the complex accounting education environment. These recommendations were tested in the empirical work undertaken in this study. Even though it was promising to observe that recipient educators are moving towards the knowledge society, recipient educators are still lagging their developed context counterparts. Thus, for capacity development to have a sustainable impact, it is important that accounting educators lever the disciplinary knowledge advancements in the developed world. Furthermore, the best practice recommendations outlined in this study will be of relevance to other developing countries striving to uplift their accounting academic programmes to global standards.
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Fourthly, capacity development was described as having a “weak intellectual standing in the wider development worlds” (Morgan 2006, p. 4; also see Otoo et al., 2009; Mormina, 2019) and does not exist on its own, but rather borrows from various theories (Baser & Morgan, 2008). This study combines ideas and elements from different theories (such as social change theory, community development theory, agency theory, stewardship theory, and complexity theory) to inform the analytical process. An unexpected finding in this study was the importance of a social constructivist approach to learning for the capacity development process within a South-South teaching linkage (Hodgkinson-Williams et al., 2008). This conduit is vital, not only during the South-South teaching linkage, but also in maintaining capacity (after the linkage comes to an end). The combined analysis approach undertaken in this study can be applied to future studies examining South-South teaching linkages to analyse the process of change that may result.
Lastly, the practical outcome of this research outlines a suggested approach that can be followed to develop the capacity of accounting educators and the different role-players that influence the capacity development process of accounting educators in a South-South teaching linkage.
Keywords: accounting education, capacity development; developing country, linkages, partnerships, teaching capacities, South-South