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Impact of Immediate Corrective Feedback on Students’ Accounting Problem-Solving Accuracy in Nigerian Universities

Abstract

Immediate corrective feedback is an instructional strategy that provides students with prompt information about the accuracy of their responses and guidance on how identified errors can be corrected during or immediately after accounting learning activities. Accounting education students are expected to develop the ability to analyse transactions, apply accounting principles, perform calculations, prepare accounting records, and solve accounting problems accurately. However, students may continue to repeat misconceptions and procedural errors when feedback is delayed or provided only after major assessments. Immediate Corrective Feedback allows students to identify mistakes while the relevant accounting concept or procedure is still active in their memory, understand the reason for the error, and apply the appropriate correction before similar mistakes recur. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of immediate corrective feedback on students' accounting problem-solving accuracy in Nigerian universities. The study will be anchored on Behaviourist Learning Theory, Cognitive Learning Theory, and Constructivist Learning Theory. Behaviourist Learning Theory emphasizes the role of reinforcement and corrective responses in shaping accurate learning behaviours. Cognitive Learning Theory focuses on how learners process, organize, store, and retrieve information and how timely feedback can support the correction of misconceptions and improve knowledge structures. Constructivist Learning Theory emphasizes active participation, reflection, problem-solving, and the construction of knowledge through meaningful learning experiences. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how immediate corrective feedback may influence students' accounting problem-solving accuracy. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. The study population will comprise accounting education students enrolled in selected public and private universities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, universities, faculties or departments, levels of study, classes, and eligible accounting education students. Immediate corrective feedback will be assessed using indicators such as prompt identification of incorrect responses, immediate explanation of errors, identification of the correct accounting principle, explanation of correct procedures, clarification of misconceptions, correction of calculation errors, correction of journal-entry errors, correction of ledger-posting errors, correction of classification errors, correction of adjustment errors, explanation of financial statement errors, provision of correct solutions, guided error correction, lecturer feedback, peer feedback, automated digital feedback, written feedback, verbal feedback, feedback during practical exercises, feedback immediately after task completion, opportunities for students to revise answers, repeated corrective practice, feedback on unfamiliar accounting problems, feedback specificity, feedback clarity, feedback relevance, feedback consistency, and opportunities to apply corrections to similar problems. Students' accounting problem-solving accuracy will be assessed using indicators such as correct identification of accounting problems, accurate interpretation of transactions, appropriate selection of accounting principles, correct account classification, accurate journal entries, correct ledger posting, accurate calculations, appropriate adjustment procedures, correct trial-balance preparation, accurate financial statement preparation, correct application of accounting formulas, identification and correction of accounting errors, appropriate treatment of unfamiliar transactions, logical sequencing of problem-solving steps, accuracy of final answers, ability to explain solutions, ability to justify accounting treatments, ability to detect errors in completed solutions, ability to apply corrected knowledge to new problems, consistency of performance across accounting tasks, and accuracy on delayed problem-solving assessments. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized accounting problem-solving tests, practical accounting tasks, error-analysis exercises, scenario-based accounting problems, feedback records, observation checklists, competency-based assessment rubrics, students' corrected work, and pre-test and post-test assessments. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic and academic characteristics, exposure to immediate corrective feedback, learning experiences, and levels of accounting problem-solving accuracy. Inferential statistical techniques, including paired and independent t-tests, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of immediate corrective feedback on students' accounting problem-solving accuracy. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, students' problem-solving accuracy scores before and after exposure to immediate corrective feedback may be compared with those of a control group receiving conventional or delayed feedback 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 immediate corrective feedback has a significant positive impact on students' accounting problem-solving accuracy in Nigerian universities. Students who receive timely, specific, and constructive corrective feedback are expected to demonstrate greater accuracy and fewer recurring errors than students who receive delayed or limited feedback. Immediate identification of incorrect responses may prevent students from reinforcing incorrect accounting procedures. Explanations of errors may help students understand why a particular response is incorrect rather than simply replace it with a correct answer. Feedback on journal entries may help students correct account classification, debit-and-credit, amount, and recording errors. Ledger-posting feedback may improve students' ability to trace and correct posting mistakes, while trial-balance and financial statement feedback may strengthen students' ability to identify discrepancies and understand their underlying causes. Immediate correction of calculation errors may improve numerical accuracy and reduce the recurrence of similar mistakes. Feedback on adjustment procedures may strengthen students' understanding of accruals, prepayments, depreciation, provisions, and other accounting adjustments. Guided correction activities may encourage students to revise their own solutions and apply corrected procedures to similar problems. Lecturer and peer feedback may provide opportunities for clarification and alternative explanations, while automated digital feedback may provide rapid responses during computer-supported accounting exercises. Feedback specificity and clarity may help students focus on the exact aspect of their solution requiring improvement. Repeated corrective practice may reinforce accurate problem-solving procedures and strengthen students' ability to apply corrected knowledge to unfamiliar accounting problems. Delayed assessments may further determine whether the benefits of immediate corrective feedback extend beyond immediate task performance. However, excessive feedback, poorly explained corrections, inconsistent feedback, lecturer workload, large class sizes, limited instructional time, students' reluctance to review mistakes, overdependence on correct answers, and inadequate digital infrastructure may reduce the effectiveness of the approach. The study therefore expects immediate, specific, explanatory, constructive, and appropriately structured corrective feedback to contribute significantly to improved accounting problem-solving accuracy among accounting education students in Nigerian universities. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on immediate corrective feedback, accounting problem-solving accuracy, accounting education, feedback-based learning, error correction, cognitive learning, behaviourist learning, constructivist learning, accounting problem-solving, practical accounting education, formative assessment, accounting skills development, learner-centred instruction, accounting pedagogy, and university education in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Universities Commission, universities, accounting education departments, accounting educators, curriculum developers, professional accounting bodies, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving students' accounting problem-solving competence. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating immediate corrective feedback into accounting education programmes, developing structured feedback procedures for accounting exercises, training accounting educators to provide specific and explanatory corrective feedback, incorporating immediate error correction into practical accounting activities, using digital feedback systems where appropriate, providing students with opportunities to revise and reattempt accounting problems, strengthening formative assessment practices, using delayed assessments to evaluate sustained improvement, developing competency-based assessments of accounting problem-solving accuracy, and aligning accounting education with the accuracy, analytical, and problem-solving competencies required in contemporary accounting practice in Nigeria.

Keywords: Immediate corrective feedback, accounting problem-solving accuracy, accounting education students, feedback-based learning, error correction, formative assessment, cognitive learning, behaviourist learning, constructivist learning, accounting problem-solving, practical accounting education, accounting skills development, accounting pedagogy, Nigerian universities, Nigeria.