My Engineering Students Neglect their Statistics Course Homework: What Policies Should Introduce to Motivate them to do their Home Work?

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between undergraduate engineering students' attitudes toward statistics, attitudes toward homework, and rate of homework completion when enrolled in a statistics course. The Attitude Toward Statistics Scale (ATS) and an Attitude Toward Homework Opinionnaire were used. ATS reliability was evaluated using the internal-consistency method. Hypotheses examining differences in attitudes between two groups of students and the effect of their attitudes on rate of homework completion were addressed using statistical tests and ANOVA. The study also focuses on the impact of introducing a new homework policy on students' motivation to do homework in frame of an action research. Results suggest that students are more willing to do homework when the adopted homework policy fulfills most of their relevant high-level needs including ease of communication with their instructor.