Assessing Students’ Attitudes and Perceptions towards Statistical Literacy in a University System in a Developing African Country

Statistical literacy is important in the curriculum of every higher education institution and the sustainable development of countries. Nonetheless, low performances and student enrolment recorded in statistical education warrant investigation into plausible factors. This case study used the Students’ Attitude towards Statistics (SATS) 36-item instrument to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of 185 students, enrolled in different disciplines, towards statistics education at Chinhoyi University of Technology in Zimbabwe. Descriptive, factor reduction, and multiple regression techniques were used to summarise and extract critical covariates, and relate variables in each construct in order to explain the attitudes of students towards statistics. Thematic analysis was done for an in-depth qualitative explanation of the drivers and barriers to the teaching and learning of statistics education. The main factors which induce fear, stress, anxiety, and antipathy towards statistics include: the perceived difficulty and numerical complexity of statistics, a natural low statistics self-efficacy and self-perception, and the extremely varying statistics cognitive capabilities of students. Inadequate supporting and facilitating conditions such as modern Information Communication Technology infrastructure, and a conducive teaching and learning environment lead to low performances. Regardless, students still perceive statistics as imperative for future professions and are willing to exert enough effort provided they are motivated in statistics education. It entails a diametric paradigm repositioning of the teaching and learning of statistics, emphasising collaborative learning, the intense use of electronic learning and the assessment of statistics, and smaller-sized classes giving individualised attention to benefit weaker students. Future research needs to explore statistics curriculum development, which is lagging and may be silently responsible for the low development rate in poor African countries.