Impact of Gender and Migration Background on Students' Statistics Anxiety and Self-Concept in Higher Education

• In Event: International Education, Environments, and Experiences

Abstract

Following the emphasis of the AERA Call for 2016, we examine the effects of students’ increasingly diversifying sociodemographic characteristics on their starting conditions in higher education statistics courses. More precisely, we analyze whether students’ gender and migration background influence their statistics self-concept and anxiety in their first statistics course. Confirmatory factor analyses and MIMIC models based on the assessment of 762 students from three degree courses and two universities in Germany revealed small differences in students’ anxiety and self-concept depending on their migration background as well as considerable differences in these attitudes depending on gender. Based on these results, measures contributing to a promotion of the different student groups and further need for research will be discussed.

Authors

• Manuel Förster, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz

• Andreas Maur, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz