Abstract
Based on a cognitive-motivational modeling of construct relations, the present study aimed at analyzing the role of prior statistics experiences to explain education science students’ statistics anxiety. Data were analyzed from two independent samples which consisted of N = 113 and N = 87 participants – using a different operationalization of the experience variable in each case. In both samples, analyses demonstrated students’ statistics anxiety to be substantially explained by their self-concept and negative utility value – but not by their prior statistics experiences. However, conceptually assumed interaction effects between motivation and experience variables did not occur. Instead, students’ statistics anxiety appeared to be dependent on self-concept and value scores across all experience levels. Moreover, different operationalizations of the experience variable produced somewhat varying effect patterns. Findings are discussed in terms of conceptual, methodological, and instructional implications.
Highlights
In higher education settings, the learning of research methods, most notably the acquisition of statistical knowledge and competencies, can be stressful or anxiety provoking
The present study primarily focused on the explanatory role of motivation variables to clarify the role of prior statistics experiences
Confirming relevant research findings (Birenbaum & Eylath, 1994; Chew & Dillon, 2012, 2014a; Schutz et al, 1998; Townsend et al, 1998), the results from both samples demonstrated that prior statistics experiences predicted statistics anxiety only to a minor extent
Summary
The learning of research methods, most notably the acquisition of statistical knowledge and competencies, can be stressful or anxiety provoking. When dealing with the requirements of quantitative methods courses that are commonly compulsory for earning the degree, these students mostly suffer from strong failure expectations and frequently experience feelings of apprehension and personal threat They perceive methodological competencies difficult to acquire and less useful for current studies and later professional development (Markle, 2017; Murtonen & Lehtinen, 2003; Murtonen, Olkinuora, Tynjälä, & Lehtinen, 2008; Zeidner, 1991). Empirical analyses from diverse conceptual, methodological, and institutional backgrounds have yielded insights into the development, structure, and consequences of higher education students’ statistics anxiety These studies have established a broad-based research with the goal of clarifying and elaborating the construct (Onwuegbuzie & Wilson, 2003; Ralston, MacInnes, Crow, & Gayle, 2016)
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