Antecedents of statistics anxiety in a higher education system

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Date
2017-08
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Academic Affairs Directorate, Kampala International University (KIU), Uganda, East Africa Institute for Social Research, KIU
Abstract
As more empirical data existed in higher education environment, along with it were simple to complex tools such as statistical concepts and analyses that enabled the translations of the data to bring about a better educational system. A rising challenge therefore in universities reflected a scenario on data integration, institutional metrics and higher education analytics not in the pedestal of productive interpretation and utilization. Contributory to the ability of making sense with empirical data necessary for a proactive and successful delivery of education would be the element of good statistics background. This study contended that learning statistics and its rudiments were perceived as complicated and difficult as compared to some other courses offered at university level. Further, this investigation contested the existence of statics anxiety among postgraduate students in an in-site university setting. The data from randomly selected 136 postgraduate students (Kampala International University, Uganda) referring to dispositional (procrastination and perfectionism) and environmental antecedents (gender) and statistics anxiety were scientifically elicited, processed and analyzed utilizing the quantitative-post positivist’s research paradigm model. The findings revealed (1) a positive but insignificant relationship between academic procrastination and statistics anxiety; (2) a significant negative relationship between perfectionism and statistics anxiety; and (3) differences in statistics anxiety between the female and male students existed. Notably from the results then, academic procrastination did not significantly affect the students’ statistics anxiety; the students with higher levels of perfectionism tended to have lower levels of statistics anxiety while the levels of statistics anxiety among the female students were slightly higher than that of the male students.
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Keywords
Antecedents, Statistics anxiety, Higher education system, Academic procrastination, Gender, Perfectionism
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