Students' attitudes towards distance accounting education: A research at Shatt Al-Arab University

Distance education has become vital to continue education and training activities during the Covid-19 epidemic. According to previous studies, students' perspectives and attitudes towards distance learning vary. While some students find distance learning satisfying and motivating, others find traditional learning irreplaceable. It is known that distance education is acceptable among accounting students in Iraq and around the world, but there are some deficiencies in providing online education to students in some underdeveloped countries such as Iraq. This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of accounting department students who received distance education at Shatt Al-Arab University in Basra, Iraq, towards distance education. Within the scope of the study, it was examined whether students' attitudes towards distance education varied according to their gender, whether they were in a day or night program, their grades and their ages. This study is important in terms of revealing students' attitudes towards distance learning in accounting courses. In the study, a total of 357 students were determined as a sample and a form consisting of survey questions was distributed to accounting department students and they were asked to answer the questions. The results of this study, in which the quantitative research method was adopted, revealed that accounting department students have a very positive attitude towards distance education. According to the t-test and ANOVA results, statistically significant differences were detected between the genders, departments, classes and ages of the students participating in the research and the sub-dimensions of their views on distance education. It is expected that the findings obtained from the study will contribute to decision makers in increasing the quality of education and training activities in the future. Keywords: Distance education, accounting, accounting education, education quality.