Diversity and Equity in Accounting Education during COVID-19: Insights from Colombia

Abstract

This paper aims to open a window into diversity and inequity issues unveiled by COVID-19 in accounting education in a context of social and political unrest. Following interviews and autoethnographic written reports, a survey of Colombian accounting professors was examined and complemented by a student survey. The study drew on the concepts of conscientização and dialogic pedagogy, proposed by Brazilian social scientist Paulo Freire. The findings showed that the pandemic enabled students and faculty to move from a magical to a critical stage of conscientização (critical consciousness). The pandemic led them to reflect on their context, question the role of accounting, and advance their liberation from oppressive positions. We ended our research with the claim a student posted on their profile: “How hard it is to study while they are killing my people!” Future studies may extend the scope of research to other periods and geographic contexts.