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Impact of Taxation Case Studies on Tax Problem-Solving Skills among Accounting Education Students in Nigeria

Abstract

The complexity of taxation rules, procedures, compliance requirements, and tax administration has increased the need for accounting education students to develop strong tax problem-solving skills before entering professional practice. Taxation education requires students to understand tax principles and apply them to practical situations involving tax computation, classification of income, allowable deductions, tax liabilities, filing requirements, compliance decisions, and tax-related disputes. However, conventional lecture-based approaches may emphasize the recall of taxation rules and computational procedures while providing limited opportunities for students to analyse realistic tax problems. Taxation case studies provide students with opportunities to examine authentic or simulated tax situations, identify relevant issues, interpret applicable tax rules, analyse information, evaluate alternative solutions, and justify appropriate tax decisions. In Nigeria, the use of taxation case studies may help bridge the gap between theoretical taxation knowledge and the practical problem-solving abilities required in contemporary tax practice. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of taxation case studies on tax problem-solving skills among accounting education students in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on Constructivist Learning Theory, Experiential Learning Theory, and Situated Learning Theory. Constructivist Learning Theory emphasizes active participation, prior knowledge, collaboration, and the construction of knowledge through meaningful learning experiences. Experiential Learning Theory emphasizes learning through concrete experience, reflective observation, conceptualization, and active experimentation, providing a suitable framework for students' engagement with taxation cases. Situated Learning Theory emphasizes the development and application of knowledge within authentic professional contexts, making it relevant to realistic taxation problems and professional tax situations. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how taxation case studies may influence students' tax problem-solving skills. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise undergraduate 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, and eligible accounting education students. Taxation case studies will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of case-study activities, relevance of cases to Nigerian taxation, complexity of tax problems, individual and group case analysis, tax computation cases, income classification cases, allowable-deduction cases, tax compliance cases, filing and payment scenarios, tax planning cases, tax dispute scenarios, interpretation of tax legislation, use of tax administration systems, analysis of taxpayer information, alternative-solution evaluation, lecturer facilitation, peer discussion, feedback, reflection, written case reports, presentations, and opportunities for repeated tax problem-solving. Students' tax problem-solving skills will be assessed using indicators such as identification of tax issues, interpretation of applicable tax rules, classification of taxable income, calculation of tax liabilities, application of allowable deductions, identification of tax exemptions and reliefs, evaluation of taxpayer obligations, preparation of tax computations, analysis of compliance requirements, resolution of tax errors, evaluation of alternative tax treatments, tax decision-making, professional judgement, interpretation of tax information, ethical tax decision-making, and ability to solve unfamiliar taxation problems. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized taxation problem-solving tests, taxation case-analysis tasks, tax computation exercises, scenario-based assessments, competency-based assessment rubrics, observation checklists, written case reports, and pre-test and post-test assessments where a quasi-experimental design is adopted. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic and academic characteristics, taxation learning experiences, exposure to case studies, and levels of tax problem-solving skills. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired and independent t-tests, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of taxation case studies on students' tax problem-solving skills. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, tax problem-solving scores before and after exposure to taxation case studies may be compared with those of a comparison group receiving conventional taxation instruction 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 taxation case studies have a significant positive impact on tax problem-solving skills among accounting education students in Nigeria. Students exposed to structured and realistic taxation case studies are expected to demonstrate stronger abilities to identify tax issues, interpret relevant tax rules, compute tax liabilities, evaluate taxpayer obligations, analyse compliance requirements, resolve tax errors, and justify appropriate tax decisions than students exposed primarily to conventional lecture-based instruction. Case analysis may enable students to understand how taxation principles operate in complex situations involving incomplete information, multiple tax considerations, changing regulatory requirements, and competing taxpayer interests. Group discussions may expose students to different approaches to tax problems and encourage them to evaluate alternative solutions. Feedback and reflection may further help students identify errors and improve their problem-solving strategies. The use of Nigerian taxation cases may also strengthen students' understanding of the practical application of tax laws and administrative procedures within the country's tax environment. However, limited access to current taxation materials, frequent changes in tax regulations, inadequate lecturer training in case-based instruction, large class sizes, insufficient instructional time, and difficulties in developing authentic taxation cases may reduce the effectiveness of the approach. The study therefore expects structured, current, contextually relevant, and well-facilitated taxation case studies to contribute significantly to improved tax problem-solving skills among accounting education students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on taxation case studies, tax problem-solving skills, accounting education, taxation education, experiential learning, constructivist learning, situated learning, tax pedagogy, practical accounting competence, and higher education in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Universities Commission, universities, accounting education departments, accounting educators, professional accounting bodies, tax professionals, tax authorities, curriculum developers, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving taxation education. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating taxation case studies into accounting education programmes, developing current and authentic Nigerian tax cases, incorporating contemporary tax administration and compliance situations into classroom activities, strengthening lecturers' capacity to facilitate tax case analysis, involving tax practitioners in case development and assessment, using competency-based tax problem-solving assessments, providing continuous feedback, and creating opportunities for accounting education students to apply taxation knowledge to complex and realistic tax problems before entering professional practice in Nigeria.

Keywords: Taxation case studies, tax problem-solving skills, accounting education students, taxation education, experiential learning, constructivist learning, situated learning, tax pedagogy, practical accounting competence, Nigerian universities, Nigeria.