Compreensibilidade de livros-texto de contabilidade: um estudo empírico com a utilização da técnica cloze / Understandability of accounting text-books: an empirical study with the use of the cloze technique

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2004

RESUMO

Books are an important resource that mediates the teaching-learning process and are essential for the achievement of learning goals. Despite their importance, little attention has been given to their selection method. Although criteria such as concept correction, adequate illustration and clear terminology are important, they add little value if the book is not understandable. The lack of an objective criterion based on a solid theory may eventually expose students to texts that are difficult to read, and which contain an obscure, complex language that leads to frustration. Considering the importance of the book and its role in education and in knowledge dissemination, the following objective was established for this study: Are the accounting textbooks used in introductory courses really understandable? An experiment was conducted in order to assess understandability of two of the introductory accounting textbooks most frequently used at Brazilian public universities. The technique used consists in the systematic removal of words from texts that were the focus of our assessment. Based on the Theory of Information and on the principle of randomized sample of hidden words, this technique, named Cloze, has been widely used, since it is easy to analyze and simple to manage. The textbooks selected were tested by a group of 213 students of the Accounting Sciences course, of the Department of Accounting and Actuarial Practices of the School of Economics, Administration and Accounting, University of São Paulo. Unlike previous studies, the results of this assessment showed lack of relationship between the students’ educational background and their achievement in Cloze, as well as a significant difference in the students’ performance in the test for answers with/without synonyms. No significant relationship was found between the students’ performance in Cloze and their corresponding achievement in that particular subject. Analyses of the texts assessed revealed that most students had a satisfactory performance and the texts were consistent in terms of score distribution. In this sense, we confirm the understandability of the textbooks assessed and, consequently, their suitability to the periods in question.

ASSUNTO(S)

books understandability readability readability contabilidade accounting understandability livros seleção ensino selection teaching

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