ERIC Number: EJ876504
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0965-948X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Experiences and Expectations: The Real Reason Nobody Likes Stats
Druggeri, Kai; Dempster, Martin; Hanna, Donncha; Cleary, Carol
Psychology Teaching Review, v14 n2 p75-83 2008
Within undergraduate psychology courses, students often have significant levels of anxiety and negative attitudes toward the statistical element. This has been attributed to poor interaction with teachers, fears about mathematical abilities, and simply being unaware of that portion of the course or its relevance to psychology. To address this, 196 undergraduate psychology students completed a survey on statistics anxiety and attitudes. Additionally, 27 different students in similar situations took part in focus group to share their experiences of introductory statistics courses. Survey results showed that fewer than half were aware of the statistics portion of their course and that the expectation was a key factor in their experiences. Qualitative feedback from the focus groups revealed much about how the teaching may or may not improve attitudes nor decrease anxiety. Findings support various broad strategies (i.e. increase awareness of statistics in psychology and confidence in success in the course) as opposed to skill-specific (better ways of teaching probability or using games to increase participation, for example) classroom interventions to improve statistics education. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Undergraduate Study, Psychology, Curriculum, Statistics, Mathematics Anxiety, Negative Attitudes, Teacher Student Relationship, Relevance (Education), Focus Groups, Qualitative Research, Undergraduate Students, Introductory Courses, Student Surveys, Feedback (Response), Educational Experience, Expectation, Teaching Methods, Context Effect, Student Attitudes, Intervention, Educational Improvement
British Psychological Society, Division for Teachers & Researchers in Psychology. St Andrews House, 48 Princess Road East, Leicester, LE1 7DR, UK. Tel: +44-1162-529551; Fax: +44-1162-271314; e-mail: directmail@bps.org.uk; Web site: http://www.bps.org.uk/ptr
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A