Abstract:
In education, formal assessment focuses on summative assessment with the
objective of allocating grades, limiting learning by students. Formative assessment, in the
form of self-assessment, has been proposed as beneficial to student learning in various fields.
This study explores the perceptions of accounting students of the self-assessment process
after exposure to the process on three occasions in a facilitated environment created by their
lecturers. The students’ perceptions on self-assessment were collected via a structured
survey.
It was found that most students did not self-assess unless encouraged to do so.
However, once they were exposed to self-assessment in an environment supportive to such
assessment, students were positive about the process. After the facilitated process, they
believed that self-assessment would improve their overall academic performance and
indicated that they would apply self-assessment in future. This research provides insight into
accounting students’ perceptions of self-assessment in learning, demonstrating the
importance of investigating the benefits from a student perspective.
