This study explores the experiences of Black accountants as they reflect on their memories of the pipeline to their profession and the affective dimensions of their educational experiences as accounting majors in college. Grounding into Unapologetic Black Inquiry (UBI), a framework rooted in critical race theory, this investigation integrates narrative inquiry as a tool to capture rich descriptions from participant interviews and written reflections. Furthermore, this descriptive qualitative study explores how the structures and values of accounting education are rooted in a form of professionalism that prioritizes technical proficiencies over cultural knowledge, thus ignoring community forms of assets related to Black student experiences. The investigation found that Black accountants who participated in the study associate the notion of \"professionalism\" in accounting education spaces as a mechanism for reinforcing white norms, values, and ways of understanding. These findings reaffirm other analyses in education scholarship that suggest diversifying professions requires investigating how professional standards, practices, and pipelines reflect the views of dominant cultural groups. Among the implications of these findings is the need to redefine professionalism to include greater historical and community understandings of the political, cultural, and economic dimensions of Black life in the United States. To improve diversity in the accounting field likely requires pedagogical approaches that build from these dimensions of diverse students' experiences.
","abstract_html":"<p>This study explores the experiences of Black accountants as they reflect on their memories of the pipeline to their profession and the affective dimensions of their educational experiences as accounting majors in college. Grounding into Unapologetic Black Inquiry (UBI), a framework rooted in critical race theory, this investigation integrates narrative inquiry as a tool to capture rich descriptions from participant interviews and written reflections. Furthermore, this descriptive qualitative study explores how the structures and values of accounting education are rooted in a form of professionalism that prioritizes technical proficiencies over cultural knowledge, thus ignoring community forms of assets related to Black student experiences. The investigation found that Black accountants who participated in the study associate the notion of "professionalism" in accounting education spaces as a mechanism for reinforcing white norms, values, and ways of understanding. These findings reaffirm other analyses in education scholarship that suggest diversifying professions requires investigating how professional standards, practices, and pipelines reflect the views of dominant cultural groups. Among the implications of these findings is the need to redefine professionalism to include greater historical and community understandings of the political, cultural, and economic dimensions of Black life in the United States. To improve diversity in the accounting field likely requires pedagogical approaches that build from these dimensions of diverse students' experiences.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hurt, Richard W, III"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"PhD Education for Social Justice","degree_level":"Dissertation: Open Access","degree_discipline":"Learning and Teaching","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05-18T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-05-18T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:41:55Z","subjects":["Accounting","Black accountant","Black CPAs","Higher Education","Professionalism","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Leadership","Higher Education and Teaching"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations/1072","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hurt, Richard W, III"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-05-12T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Learning and Teaching"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation: Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["PhD Education for Social Justice"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Accounting","Black accountant","Black CPAs","Higher Education","Professionalism","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Leadership","Higher Education and Teaching"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations/1072"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study explores the experiences of Black accountants as they reflect on their memories of the pipeline to their profession and the affective dimensions of their educational experiences as accounting majors in college. Grounding into Unapologetic Black Inquiry (UBI), a framework rooted in critical race theory, this investigation integrates narrative inquiry as a tool to capture rich descriptions from participant interviews and written reflections. Furthermore, this descriptive qualitative study explores how the structures and values of accounting education are rooted in a form of professionalism that prioritizes technical proficiencies over cultural knowledge, thus ignoring community forms of assets related to Black student experiences. The investigation found that Black accountants who participated in the study associate the notion of \"professionalism\" in accounting education spaces as a mechanism for reinforcing white norms, values, and ways of understanding. These findings reaffirm other analyses in education scholarship that suggest diversifying professions requires investigating how professional standards, practices, and pipelines reflect the views of dominant cultural groups. Among the implications of these findings is the need to redefine professionalism to include greater historical and community understandings of the political, cultural, and economic dimensions of Black life in the United States. To improve diversity in the accounting field likely requires pedagogical approaches that build from these dimensions of diverse students' experiences.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Restricted Access: Structural Gatekeeping and the Black Student Experience in Accounting Education"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Hurt, Richard W, III"],"dc:date.available":["2025-05-12T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This study explores the experiences of Black accountants as they reflect on their memories of the pipeline to their profession and the affective dimensions of their educational experiences as accounting majors in college. Grounding into Unapologetic Black Inquiry (UBI), a framework rooted in critical race theory, this investigation integrates narrative inquiry as a tool to capture rich descriptions from participant interviews and written reflections. Furthermore, this descriptive qualitative study explores how the structures and values of accounting education are rooted in a form of professionalism that prioritizes technical proficiencies over cultural knowledge, thus ignoring community forms of assets related to Black student experiences. The investigation found that Black accountants who participated in the study associate the notion of \"professionalism\" in accounting education spaces as a mechanism for reinforcing white norms, values, and ways of understanding. These findings reaffirm other analyses in education scholarship that suggest diversifying professions requires investigating how professional standards, practices, and pipelines reflect the views of dominant cultural groups. Among the implications of these findings is the need to redefine professionalism to include greater historical and community understandings of the political, cultural, and economic dimensions of Black life in the United States. To improve diversity in the accounting field likely requires pedagogical approaches that build from these dimensions of diverse students' experiences.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digital.sandiego.edu/dissertations/1072"],"dc:subject":["Accounting","Black accountant","Black CPAs","Higher Education","Professionalism","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Leadership","Higher Education and Teaching"],"dc:title":["Restricted Access: Structural Gatekeeping and the Black Student Experience in Accounting Education"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Learning and Teaching"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation: Open Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["PhD Education for Social Justice"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:41:55Z"}