Abstract
The present study was conducted to further explore gender-based differences in the experience of statistics anxiety among graduate students. A sample of 75 graduate students from a mid-sized research university in the southeastern United States were recruited to participate in a survey concerning statistics anxiety. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance and discriminant analysis. Using the Statistics Anxiety Rating Scale, students’ statistics anxiety was measured. After accounting for age, the findings revealed a significant gender difference in statistics anxiety. A significant covariate effect of age indicated that older graduate students reported experiencing higher levels of anxiety as compared to their younger peers. Age accounted for 21% of variance in the combined statistics anxiety subscales. Analysis further revealed that males experienced higher levels of anxiety when seeking statistics help from a fellow student or a professor than did females. Implications for the design of statistics courses are discussed.
Highlights
Statistics is considered to constitute an essential knowledgebase in many fields, including the behavioral sciences and education
As prior studies have offered conflicting findings with regard to how age and gender may moderate the experience of statistics anxiety and since few studies have included older individuals including graduate students, the purpose of the present study was to seek clarification by investigating gender influence on statistics anxiety among graduate students, after accounting for differences in age
The results indicated high internal consistency values for all measures of statistics anxiety: Worth of Statistics (.96), Interpretation Anxiety (.88), Test and Class Anxiety (.85), Computational Self-concept (.85), Fear of Asking for Help (.86), and Fear of Statistics Teachers (.77)
Summary
Statistics is considered to constitute an essential knowledgebase in many fields, including the behavioral sciences and education. Anxiety is a negative emotional state characterized by excessive worry, apprehension, tension, and resulting in difficulties in deploying and maintaining (Brandish & Baldwin, 2012; Jehu, 1970). Anxiety is often accompanied by feelings of low competence about one’s own abilities (Brandish & Baldwin, 2012). These authors postulate that feelings of low competence concerning a student’s selfappraisal of their own abilities produce a state of negative emotional arousal. Students who have low self-efficacy beliefs regarding statistics mastery are at risk of experiencing statistics-related anxiety (Hsu et al, 2009)
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