Students’ Perceptions of Statistics: An Exploration of Attitudes, Conceptualizations, and Content Knowledge of Statistics

Although statistics education research has focused on students’ learning and conceptual
understanding of statistics, researchers have only recently begun investigating students’
perceptions of statistics. The term perception describes the overlap between cognitive and noncognitive
factors. In this mixed-methods study, undergraduate students provided their perceptions
of statistics and completed the Survey of Students’ Attitudes Toward Statistics-36 (SATS-36). The
qualitative data suggest students had basic knowledge of what the word statistics meant, but with
varying depths of understanding and conceptualization of statistics. Quantitative analysis also
examined the relationship between students’ perceptions of statistics and attitudes toward
statistics. We found no significant difference in mean pre- or post-SATS scores across
conceptualization and content knowledge categories. The implications of these findings for
education and research are discussed.