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This paper is from Session 5H: Psychological and social issues in the teaching of statistics
which comes under Topic 5: Statistics education and the wider society             Full topic list


(Thursday 6th, 14:00-15:30)

A comparative study of the effects of motivational and attitudinal factors on studying Statistics


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Abstract

This study focuses on the differential effects of motivations and attitudes on Critical Thinking and Self-Regulation. Two different samples of Psychology students of Open Universiteit Nederland have been studied. The first sample is composed of students, confronted with an integrated, research-based teaching and learning design; the second sample is composed of students, exposed to classic service courses in statistics and research methods. Results reveal that motivations significantly affect Critical Thinking and Self-Regulation and that motivations and attitudes affect learning processes and achievement in their own characteristic way. Moreover the crucial role of an integrated teaching and learning design as a significant contributor to optimal motivations, more favourable attitudes and more adequate learning strategies for studying statistics and research methods has been endorsed.