This paper is from Session 7E: Factors that affect statistical literacy

which comes under Topic 7: Statistical literacy in the wider society

A multilevel perspective on factors influencing students’ statistical literacy

Presenter

• Ute Sproesser (Ludwigsburg University of Education, Germany)

Co-authors

• Joachim Engel (Ludwigsburg University of Education, Germany)
• Sebastian Kuntze (Ludwigsburg University of Education, Germany)

Abstract

Over the last two decades statistics has been recognized as an important part of the school curriculum worldwide. As a result, questions related to impact factors on statistical literacy merit focused attention in empirical research. For instance, interdependencies with individual factors such as general cognitive abilities, reading comprehension or specific elements of mathematical content knowledge is still scarce. We report empirical results from two studies on relationships between statistical literacy and potential influencing factors. The findings provide insight into the role of such covariates and support the validity of the competency measure we used to assess a key aspect of statistical literacy. The evidence further suggests that statistical literacy also depends on class variables beyond individual dispositions.