Reducing the Number of Courses and Its Impact on Student Achievement: Empirical Evidence

The aim of the paper is to assess whether introducing the block study organization with intensification of learning and teaching could improve students’ study results. In the first part, responses from questionnaire are analyzed as the main goal of this research is to recognize whether more intensive learning in less courses will bring better study results. In the second part of the research, students’ learning results from the first semester which was not divided into block are compared with the students’ learning results in the first semester, which was divided into blocks. Research was realized at the Faculty of Finance and Accounting at Prague University of Economics and Business. Hypothesis was tested on students of 2 years´ degree program Finance and Accounting (MIFA). The answers of students using an anonymous questionnaire show that 72.8% of students agree with block teaching, and thus, they confirm that they are satisfied with such a teaching format, where they can study fewer subjects more intensively while the analysis of learning outcomes did not provide a clear answer to the question of whether block study will yield better learning outcomes.