This study aims to identify the primary problems faced by accounting professors both upon entry into the profession and during later phases. Thus, it seeks to answer the following research question: what are the problems perceived by accounting professors in Brazil during each phase of the professional life cycle? The data collection instrument was constructed based on the life cycles proposed by Huberman (2000) and the problems identified by Veenman (1984) and validated by a committee of experts (Delphi technique). The sample consisted of 574 Brazilian professors. The results indicate that the main problems faced by professors were the following: "lack of student motivation"; "heterogeneous classes"; "amount of administrative work"; "very large class size"; and "lack of time". It was also found that these problems tend to be the same during all phases of the professorial life cycle. However, these problems are more intense upon entry into the career; their importance decreases in each phase. It was also found that professors working for public versus private institutions confronted different problems. The large amount of administrative work and the lack of guidance by the higher education institution (HEI) are typical problems of public institutions. The degree level achieved by professors is also sensitive to the type of problems that they face. In other words, the lack of opportunities for additional training, the lack of HEI guidance, and the knowledge of academic standards are issues that most directly affect professors with lower professional degrees, whereas the lack of time and the large amount of administrative work are problems faced with greater intensity by professors with higher degrees.
higher education; life cycle; professors; accounting; Brazil
