Validity evidences for the attitude scale of higher education students towards statistics - EAEst

Abstract

The aim of this research was to investigate the validity evidence for the Attitude scale towards Statistics, EAEst. This instrument measures the attitude towards Statistics using a three-dimensional model, which considers the knowledge about Statistics (cognitive), feelings (affective) and behaviors (behavioral) towards Statistics. To this purpose, the EAEst, Likert of 5 points and with 24 items was used. A total of 277 higher education students of both genders, aged 18 to 54 years old (M = 24.1 and SD = 5.8), participated in the study. In order to verify the internal consistency of the instrument, Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used, which suggested an observable model similar to the theoretical model of attitudes. Reliability was verified using Cronbach's alpha (α = 0.908). The results show satisfactory psychometric properties. It is suggested that further studies use other types of validity evidence, such as criterion and meta-analyses.

Keywords:
Statistics teaching; Higher education; Latent variable; Quantitative analysis