A comparative study of the effect of web-based versus in-class textbook ethics instruction on accounting students' propensity to whistle-blow

Abstract

The authors examined whether accounting students’ propensity to whistle-blow differed between those instructed through a web-based teaching module and those exposed to a traditional in-class textbook-focused approach. A total of 156 students from a second-year financial accounting course participated in the study. Ninety students utilized the web-based module whereas 66 students were instructed through a traditional teaching approach based on ethical problems presented in the textbook. Subsequently, when presented with a whistle-blowing situation, it was found that students exposed to a web-based ethics instruction module were more likely to whistle-blow than those students exposed to a traditional in-class textbook ethics instruction approach.