Students from non-statistics degree programs often perceive statistics as a burden, underestimating its usefulness and encountering difficulties that cause them anxiety and stress, among others, which leads many of them to fail the course. Students’ attitudes can hinder their learning and development of useful skills associated with statistical thinking, which should be later applied outside the classroom. The aim of this study was to analyze students’ attitudes towards statistics in introductory courses in three schools of Argentina, grouped in Agricultural Sciences and Biological Sciences. We analyzed students’ attitudes at the beginning and at the end of the course, the differences between pre- and post-course attitudes and the relationship between these changes and students’ performances. The sample consisted of 436 students and their attitudes were measured using the Survey of Attitudes Towards Statistics (SATS-28), considering four components: Affect, Cognitive Competence, Value and Difficulty. Students’ performances were classified as: passed (and exempt from final exam), intermediate (but not exempt from final exam), and failed. Difficulty was not related to students’ performance, as opposed to what was detected with the other components. Cognitive competence was the only component that classified students’ performance in the correct order. Students who failed the course differed from the rest in that they developed more negative feelings towards statistics at the end of the course; in contrast, students with good performance showed an increase in the value given to statistics. Biological Sciences students presented higher average in the four components studied.
Abstract: Spanish
Los estudiantes de carreras universitarias no estadísticas a menudo perciben a estadística como una imposición, subestimando su utilidad, encontrando dificultades que les causan, entre otros, ansiedad y estrés y muchos desaprueban la materia. Las actitudes de los estudiantes pueden dificultar su aprendizaje y el desarrollo de habilidades útiles asociadas al pensamiento estadístico que deberían aplicarse posteriormente fuera del aula. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar las actitudes de los estudiantes hacia la estadística en cursos introductorios en tres facultades de Argentina, agrupadas en Ciencias Agrícolas y Ciencias Biológicas. Analizamos sus actitudes al principio y al final del curso, las diferencias entre las actitudes posteriores y previas al curso y la relación entre estos cambios y el rendimiento del alumno. La muestra estaba compuesta por 436 estudiantes y sus actitudes se midieron utilizando la Encuesta de Actitudes Hacia la Estadística (SATS-28), considerando cuatro componentes: Afecto, Competencia Cognitiva, Valor y Dificultad. El rendimiento de los estudiantes se clasificó en promoción, intermedio y reprobación. Dificultad no se relacionó con el rendimiento del estudiante a diferencia con lo detectado con las otras componentes. La Competencia Cognitiva fue la única componente que clasificó el rendimiento en el orden correcto. Los estudiantes que reprobaron el curso se diferenciaron del resto en que desarrollaron más sentimientos negativos hacia la estadística al final del curso; en contraposición los que tuvieron un buen rendimiento, mostraron un aumento en el valor dado a la estadística. Los estudiantes de Ciencias Biológicas presentaron un promedio más alto en las cuatro componentes.
As percepções humanas sobre mudanças climáticas podem influenciar fortemente a construção e a condução de estratégias de adaptação. Este trabalho discute aspectos teóricos de fatores sócioculturais relacionados aos impactos das mudanças climáticas, e um estudo de caso conduzido em Anchieta, Santa Catarina, sobre percepções dessas mudanças segundo diferentes atores do meio rural. Palavras-chave: Aquecimento global; Desenvolvimento rural; Percepções humanas; Estratégias de adaptação. * Parte da dissertação de mestrado da primeira autora, apresentada ao Mestrado em Desenvolvimento Rural da Faculdade de Agronomia de Buenos Aires.
The status of Statistics teaching has not been sufficiently explored in Agricultural Colleges in Argentina. Although Statistics is considered as an important subject in different academic institutions, there is very little information about the way that it is taught in different university curricula. The aims of this study were to (a) gather information about the place of Statistics in college programs through different indicators, and (b) explore different issues concerning the teaching of Statistics in agricultural colleges, such as epistemological views, academic organization, etc. For this purpose, a survey was conducted in the main agricultural colleges in Argentina. Twenty-three teaching teams from different university answered a questionnaire. The responses were analyzed and categories were built in order to draw some conclusions.
First published May 2004 at Statistics Education Research Journal: Archives
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