Undergraduate sport sciences students’ attitudes towards statistics: A gender perspective

Abstract

Statistics is involved in sport curricula, due to its importance in science in general and in sport sciences in particular (see for example the development of specific disciplines such as sabermetrics in baseball). The aim of this study is to investigate attitudes toward the first statistics course − the most relevant predictor for achievement − among sport sciences students of the University of Lausanne. Attitudes, measured by the instrument Survey of Attitudes Towards Statistics (SATS, Schau et al., 1995) were collected via a self-administered survey, that included known predictors of attitudes (Eichler & Zapata-Cardona, 2016) and a new one − interest in statistics in daily-life. Adopting a gender perspective, the results indicate that men have higher positive feelings toward statistics than women (Affect) and have higher confidence about their own capabilities than women (Competence). Gender and achievement in mathematics in secondary school are significant predictors of Affect and Competence, but there is an additional effect of age for the latter. Finally, there is no gender difference in achievement in the end of the semester. Gender differences in attitudes towards statistics are practically relevant for many reasons, such as women's experience during a course, the likelihood that they will take an additional optional statistical course, and in some cases, their achievement at the end of the course. It is important that the instructor is aware of them.