Experiential learning in accounting education : a prison visit

Traditional pedagogic methods in accounting education have been the subject of some criticism with potential solutions referring to out of classroom experiences. This paper relies on the concepts of situated and experiential learning to assess the effects of a learning opportunity involving visits to prison by students enrolled in the final year of an accounting degree program. Data collected from a self-designed survey suggest that the students were intellectually and emotionally engaged in the experience emanating from the novelty and anticipation of entering closed walls and meeting inmates who were former professional accountants. Students appeared to learn a number of lessons including the nature of conflicts faced by professional accountants, factors contributing to fraudulent conduct, and strategies on how they might deal with such conflicts in their professional careers.