Investigation of Pre Service Teachers’ Statistical Literacy Levels

Abstract

Statistical literacy is one of the most important actors in the information age. There has been an increase in the importance of education. Therefore, teachers' mastery of statistical concepts is necessary for quality education. The present study aims to examine the statistical literacy levels of pre-service elementary mathematics teachers. The study is a quantitative research with ex post facto design. The sample consists of 530 pre-service teachers in two universities. "Statistical Literacy Scale" was used for data collection. For the validity analysis of the scale, a first level confirmatory factor analysis was carried out and the Cronbach alpha coefficient was calculated for reliability. The data were analyzed using independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA. The statistical literacy levels of pre-service teachers increase with the statistics and probability courses they take during their undergraduate education. It was also concluded that there was a significant difference between the students who took the courses and those who did not. It is recommended to conduct new studies for curriculum development and educational policies by revealing the factors affecting the development of statistical literacy.

Keywords

• Statistics literacy
• pre-service teachers
• statistics and probability
• mathematics

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