Promoting statistics thinking amongst secondary school students in the national context

Although secondary school students in many countries (like Ireland) get a limited and basic introduction to Statistics, it is often of a mechanical and tedious nature with little or no emphasis on data analysis and practical examples. In particular they, together with their teachers, rarely see the applicability and challenging nature of statistical thinking. Statisticians need to promote these aspects of statistics to the young, their teachers and the public at large. It is suggested that the use of examples of a local (often of a national) nature should be encouraged in an effort to emphasize the relevance of statistical thinking. With this in mind, several examples which have been successfully used in the Irish context are discussed.