Barriers and facilitators of emancipatory accounting education: comparative insights from two contexts

Emancipatory accounting education encourages learners to critically analyse the broader societal impact of accounting, promoting social accountability and ethical responsibility beyond the traditional technical focus. Despite efforts to make accounting education emancipatory, there remains a significant gap in understanding what enables or obstructs such a process. This study addresses this gap by exploring key barriers and facilitators in two distinct settings, comparing two universities in Mexico and Sweden through a qualitative approach informed by critical pedagogy. The findings show that while interdisciplinarity is essential to address real-world issues, accounting education often remains rooted in technical aspects, reinforcing neoliberal and capitalist norms. Challenging the dominant view in theory and practice, the findings also suggest that structural educational challenges can, in fact, serve as catalysts for innovative and emancipatory practices. With an emphasis on democratisation, the evidence supports a more inclusive curriculum that integrates diverse societal issues. In addition, the framework presented illustrates the interrelated themes identified, highlighting the complexity of implementing emancipatory education initiatives. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Barriers and facilitators of emancipatory accounting education: comparative insights from two contexts Academic Article in Scopus