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

• Main Authors: Guenter Faber (Author), Heike Drexler (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Laureate Education Inc, 2019-05-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.18870/hlrc.v9i1.435; 2157-6254
• Keywords: statistics anxiety; education science students; self-beliefs; prior experiences; Education; L; Special aspects of education; LC8-6691; Theory and practice of education; LB5-3640
• Source: Higher Learning Research Communications, Vol 9, Iss 1 (2019)

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.