Accounting education, democracy and sustainability: taking divergent perspectives seriously

Abstract

How might accounting educators foster greater awareness of, and facilitate democratic dialogue about, divergent socio-political perspectives regarding sustainability? Rather than focusing on business perspectives that emphasise a 'business case' approach to sustainable development, how might they enable the expression of a range of viewpoints? Building on an emergent body of literature seeking to foster pluralistic approaches to accounting theory and practice, this paper reflects on the possibilities of developing accounting education for sustainability based on ideas of agonistic pluralism. In the process, it highlights how mainstream accounting's reliance on neoclassical economics has contributed to the monologic approaches that currently dominate accounting, including accounting education.