Using Group Work to Develop Intercultural Skills in the Accounting Curriculum in Australia

Abstract

This paper reports on the processes and outcomes of an experiential learning intervention designed to improve intercultural skills in accounting students by building cross-cultural alliances in culturally mixed groups. The cultural backgrounds of students in accounting units are diverse, and it has proved difficult to break down barriers to interaction between students from different countries. Students were required to complete some alliance building activities as well as working in multicultural groups when completing a major piece of assessment. At the end of the semester, these students were surveyed about their cultural learning, and the results were compared with those from students in similar accounting units who had not participated in the intervention. The results show that students participating in the intervention units reported higher levels of cultural learning than those in corresponding control units. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and their wider implications.