Integrating sustainability into professional accounting education

Joloko, Bisola ORCID: 0000-0003-4785-1729 (2024). Integrating sustainability into professional accounting education. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

Joloko202PhD_Redacted.pdf
Text - Redacted Version
Restricted to Repository staff only until 31 July 2025.
Available under License All rights reserved.
Download (6MB) | Request a copy

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the pathways and processes for integrating sustainability into Professional Accounting Education (PAE). The research combines Complex Adaptive System (CAS) theory and Institutional theory to analyse the multiple patterns of change and the influence of structural elements and agency on the change process. A qualitative case study research design using multiple cases of the UK and Nigeria was adopted to demonstrate the significance of context and produce analytical insights on how sustainability becomes integral to PAE. Documentary evidence was analysed alongside semi-structured interviews with diverse stakeholders in PAE to generate rich empirical evidence on the process of change. The findings reveal that the accounting profession adapts to external pressures to remain relevant with sustainability, providing an opportunity for reinventing accounting knowledge and expertise through PAE. Feedback mechanisms in the sub-systems of accounting: regulation, practice and research influence the pace and direction of integrating sustainability in PAE. Each profession faces different sets of enablers and constraints based on institutional conditions, and actors in the UK and Nigerian professions have diverse interests and roles which affect their capacity to channel changes using various forms of institutional work. The findings also present a holistic approach to embedding sustainability in PAE through knowledge content, ethics, and competencies. This research contributes to mapping the process of integrating sustainability into PAE and reveals the different pathways and dynamics of integrating sustainability into PAE determined by the pressures on the profession, context of PAE, and capacity of actors. Insights from this research are beneficial to standard-setting so that institutional processes can be more effective in integrating sustainability into PAE.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):