Predicting education science students’ statistics anxiety: The role of prior experiences within a framework of domain-specific motivation constructs

• Faber, Guenter ^[1] ; Drexler, Heike ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Hannover

     University of Hannover

     Region Hannover, Alemania

     
• Localización: Higher learning research communications: HLRC, ISSN-e 2157-6254, Vol. 9, Nº. 1, 2019, págs. 12-27
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • 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.