The Omitted Variable In Accounting Education Research: The Non-Traditional Student

Abstract

Few studies have examined the empirical question of whether nontraditional students are different than traditional students in learning performance.  This study explores this issue.  Specifically, is there a performance difference between traditional and nontraditional students in the first course in accounting?  The model regressed students’ performance (dependent variable) as a function of age (independent variable) along with three controlling attributes: grade point average, gender, and the frequency of class meeting times. The results indicate that nontraditional students performed better than traditional students.  This finding has important implications for business education researchers.  Educators often engage in quasi-experimental research studies where conclusions are drawn regarding the learning performance of “treatment” versus “control” groups.  Researchers should control for the nontraditional variable in their work.