Investigating the dual professionalism of an accountant and education practitioner in South Africa

Abstract

This project aims to identify the profile of a dual professional, combining the world of professional accountants with that of professional lecturers in the broader accounting field. Educational practitioners can find themselves simultaneously operating in two domains as a qualified professional in their subject field as well as a professional scholar involved in teaching and learning. How can the current profile of higher education practitioners in the Financial Sciences at HEIs in South Africa be merged to show dual professionalism? A mixed methods approach was followed, where the results of the statistical analysis of quantitative data on the professional qualifications and HBDI profiles of lecturers descriptive phase were interpreted in triangulation with qualitative research methods. Document analysis was performed to investigate the influence of the institutional identity on the professional development of lecturers. Interviews with the leadership of the Financial Sciences departments at the University of Pretoria formed part of the interpretive phase of this study. Three dimensions were added to the body of knowledge on the professional identity of education practitioners in the Financial Sciences in HEIs in South Africa namely: The skewedness of academic qualification profiles and the influence of appointment and promotion policies on qualification choices have been investigated; The second dimension was from an ethnographical viewpoint and provided insights into the different combinations of thinking preferences for these individuals; As a third contribution the perspective of leadership on the dual professionalism of practitioners in Financial Sciences at one HEI and their role in the balanced development of these education practitioners, concluded the investigation.