The Effect of Digital Games on Students' Attitude toward Accounting

Accounting bodies have always emphasized the use of educational technologies in introductory accounting courses to make them more appealing and to have a positive impact on students’ interest and attitude towards this profession. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of digital instructional games on students' attitudes toward accounting. The game used in this quasi-experimental research is the digital game Accounting Principles, available at Cafe Bazar, and the experiment was conducted during the first semester of the academic year 2018-2019. The sample was selected through convenience sampling and included 100 students of Accounting Principles (1) in four available classes at a university in Tehran. The classes were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. A standard attitude survey was used to collect data. The results showed that the digital game Accounting Principles improved accounting students’ perception of this discipline. Moreover, the results showed the positive impact of the game on the attitude of non-accounting (management) students towards accounting was stronger. Consistent with the view of the American Accounting Association, findings suggest that making introductory accounting courses more attractive by using instructional technologies such as games can improve accounting students' interest and attitudes toward accounting and attract them to this major.