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Effect of Accounting Mentorship on Students’ Professional Identity among Accounting Education Students in Nigerian Universities

Abstract

Professional identity is an important aspect of Accounting Education because students are expected to develop a clear understanding of the values, responsibilities, behaviours, competencies, and ethical standards associated with the accounting profession. Accounting students who develop a strong professional identity may demonstrate greater commitment to professional standards, confidence in their abilities, awareness of professional responsibilities, and preparedness for future accounting careers. However, some Accounting Education students in Nigerian universities may have limited opportunities to interact with experienced accounting professionals and receive structured guidance concerning professional expectations and career development. Accounting mentorship provides students with opportunities to interact with experienced accountants, lecturers, practitioners, and other professional role models who can provide guidance, encouragement, professional knowledge, feedback, and career-related support. Such mentorship may help students understand the realities of accounting practice and develop a stronger sense of belonging and identification with the accounting profession. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of Accounting Mentorship on students’ professional identity among Accounting Education students in Nigerian universities. The study will be anchored on Social Learning Theory, Social Identity Theory, and Experiential Learning Theory. Social Learning Theory explains how students may acquire professional behaviours, attitudes, values, and expectations through observation, modelling, interaction, and feedback from accounting mentors. Social Identity Theory explains how interaction with professional accountants and exposure to professional groups may strengthen students’ sense of belonging to and identification with the accounting profession. Experiential Learning Theory emphasizes the development of knowledge and professional understanding through practical experiences, reflection, conceptualization, and active participation. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how Accounting Mentorship may influence students’ professional identity. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The population will comprise undergraduate and postgraduate Accounting Education students enrolled in selected Nigerian universities. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, universities, departments, levels of study, and eligible students. Accounting Mentorship will be assessed using indicators such as availability of mentorship programmes, mentor-mentee interaction, frequency of mentorship meetings, duration of mentoring relationships, mentor accessibility, professional guidance, career guidance, academic guidance, practical accounting discussions, professional-role modelling, feedback, encouragement, professional networking, workplace exposure, ethical guidance, professional-standard discussions, communication with practising accountants, mentoring activities, individual mentoring sessions, group mentoring sessions, professional seminars, career discussions, workplace case discussions, accounting-practice demonstrations, professional-development guidance, goal-setting activities, professional reflection, and follow-up support. Students’ professional identity will be assessed using indicators such as professional self-concept, sense of belonging to the accounting profession, professional commitment, professional confidence, recognition of accounting responsibilities, awareness of professional standards, ethical orientation, professional values, perception of accounting roles, understanding of professional expectations, career identification, professional aspirations, professional motivation, perceived professional competence, professional responsibility, professional behaviour, professional communication, professional attitude, commitment to continuous learning, willingness to participate in professional development, confidence in interacting with accounting professionals, awareness of workplace expectations, professional decision-making, accountability, integrity, objectivity, diligence, respect for confidentiality, professional conduct, and readiness to assume accounting-related responsibilities. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, Accounting Mentorship assessment scales, professional identity scales, mentorship participation records, mentor-mentee interaction records, professional-development activities, and relevant university programme documents where available. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students’ demographic and academic characteristics, mentorship exposure, mentoring experiences, and professional identity levels. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of Accounting Mentorship on students’ professional identity. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, professional identity scores before and after participation in the mentorship programme may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that Accounting Mentorship has a significant positive effect on professional identity among Accounting Education students in Nigerian universities. Students who participate in structured mentorship programmes are expected to demonstrate stronger professional self-concept, greater identification with the accounting profession, increased professional confidence, stronger commitment to professional values, and greater awareness of accounting responsibilities. Regular mentor-mentee interactions may provide students with opportunities to learn directly from experienced professionals and understand the expectations associated with accounting careers. Professional-role modelling may help students observe appropriate professional behaviours, attitudes, communication styles, ethical practices, and workplace conduct. Career guidance may improve students’ understanding of accounting career pathways and professional opportunities. Academic guidance may help students connect classroom learning with professional accounting practice. Practical accounting discussions may improve students’ understanding of how accounting knowledge is applied in real-world situations. Feedback from mentors may help students recognize their strengths and areas requiring improvement. Encouragement may strengthen students’ confidence in pursuing accounting-related careers. Professional networking opportunities may help students develop relationships with accountants and other professionals. Workplace exposure may provide students with realistic perspectives regarding accounting responsibilities and organizational expectations. Ethical guidance may strengthen students’ understanding of integrity, objectivity, confidentiality, professional competence, and responsible conduct. Discussions of professional standards may improve students’ awareness of the principles guiding accounting practice. Communication with practising accountants may strengthen students’ confidence in interacting with professionals. Individual mentoring may provide personalized guidance based on students’ academic and career needs. Group mentoring may promote peer interaction and shared professional learning. Professional seminars may expose students to current accounting practices and professional expectations. Career discussions may strengthen students’ awareness of career planning and professional development. Workplace case discussions may improve students’ understanding of practical accounting decisions. Accounting-practice demonstrations may help students connect theoretical concepts with workplace applications. Professional-development guidance may encourage students to pursue continuous learning and skills development. Goal-setting activities may strengthen students’ commitment to professional growth. Professional reflection may help students evaluate their values, behaviours, competencies, and career aspirations. Follow-up support may help sustain professional development beyond individual mentoring sessions. However, the effectiveness of Accounting Mentorship may be constrained by limited availability of qualified mentors, inadequate university-industry collaboration, large student populations, irregular mentor-mentee meetings, limited funding for mentorship programmes, poor communication between mentors and students, limited professional exposure, mentors’ workload, inadequate mentorship structures, low student participation, geographical barriers, limited access to practising accountants, inadequate monitoring of mentoring relationships, and insufficient institutional support. The study therefore expects structured, accessible, sustained, professionally relevant, and adequately supervised Accounting Mentorship to contribute significantly to the development of stronger professional identity among Accounting Education students in Nigerian universities. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on Accounting Mentorship, professional identity, accounting education, professional socialization, Social Learning Theory, Social Identity Theory, Experiential Learning Theory, accounting professional development, career development, professional values, professional commitment, professional confidence, ethical orientation, professional self-concept, workplace readiness, professional networking, mentorship programmes, accounting practice, professional competence, employability, and Accounting Education in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Universities Commission, university administrators, Accounting Education departments, accounting educators, professional accounting bodies, practising accountants, employers, career-development organizations, industry partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening students’ professional development and identity. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating structured Accounting Mentorship programmes into Accounting Education curricula, increasing collaboration between universities and accounting professionals, providing accessible and sustainable mentor-mentee relationships, organizing professional-development and career-guidance activities, increasing students’ exposure to practising accountants and accounting workplaces, strengthening professional and ethical guidance, establishing mentorship monitoring and evaluation systems, and preparing Accounting Education students for responsible participation in the accounting profession in Nigeria.

Keywords: Accounting Mentorship, professional identity, Accounting Education students, professional self-concept, professional commitment, professional confidence, professional values, professional socialization, career development, professional development, workplace readiness, accounting profession, Nigerian universities, Nigeria.