The history of the role of CAEs in Australian
accounting education is written against a backdrop
of several decades of turmoil in higher education in
Australia. Accounting struggled to be recognized as
a genuine university discipline, labored under
sustained student demand for places and endured
minimal government funding. Yet CAEs developed into
assemblies of professionals and educators who
created vocational courses which catered for the
needs of those whom universities had shunned: mature
age and part time students. Their lasting legacy
includes: strong professional links; a deeper
appreciation of learning and teaching; connections
with mature students; an emphasis on the scholarship
of teaching; and a continuance of the discussion
about accounting as an academic or vocational
discipline.
accounting education is written against a backdrop
of several decades of turmoil in higher education in
Australia. Accounting struggled to be recognized as
a genuine university discipline, labored under
sustained student demand for places and endured
minimal government funding. Yet CAEs developed into
assemblies of professionals and educators who
created vocational courses which catered for the
needs of those whom universities had shunned: mature
age and part time students. Their lasting legacy
includes: strong professional links; a deeper
appreciation of learning and teaching; connections
with mature students; an emphasis on the scholarship
of teaching; and a continuance of the discussion
about accounting as an academic or vocational
discipline.