Epistemological Beliefs and Academic Performance in Accounting Education: The Role of Motivational and Behavioural Mechanisms

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between epistemological beliefs and academic achievement in accounting education, with particular attention to motivational and behavioural mechanisms. While epistemological beliefs have been widely studied in educational psychology, empirical evidence from business and accounting contexts remains limited. Using survey data from undergraduate students enrolled in a second-semester accounting course at a Hungarian university, the study investigates how multiple dimensions of epistemological beliefs are associated with course performance through class attendance, intrinsic motivation, and domain-specific self-confidence. Perceived external pressure is also examined, and gender differences are explored as a contextual factor.
The results indicate that epistemological beliefs are not uniformly related to academic achievement. Only beliefs concerning the complexity of knowledge show a direct association with performance, whereas other belief dimensions are linked to achievement indirectly through attendance, intrinsic motivation, and self-confidence. Among the mediators, class attendance emerges as a par-
ticularly important behavioural pathway. Gender does not moderate the identified mediation processes, which implies that the underlying relationships operate similarly for male and female students. Nevertheless, descriptive differences are observed, with female students reporting higher levels of perceived external pressure and male students reporting higher self-confidence.
By extending research on epistemological beliefs into accounting education, this study contributes to a more differentiated understanding of the mechanism through which learning-related beliefs are associated with academic performance in professional education contexts.