EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS

*Introduction of the course study (subject description)

Educational Statistics is an introductory graduate course in using quantitative

methods for inquiry in the social and behavioral sciences. This course is designed for

students at the senior or graduate level who find it necessary to be an educated

consumer of statistical information. This is designed to be a first course on this topic.

Major areas of study include gathering/organizing data, probability, inferential

techniques (t-test, ANOVA, follow-up tests, correlation, and repression), non-

parametric techniques (chi-square test), and single subject designs. This course is

designed to teach introductory concepts in statistics as applied in the social sciences,

particularly education.

Students will be exposed to the fundamental concepts and procedures of

descriptive and inferential statistics. They will also develop competence in reading

and understanding statistics topics from sources such as texts, dissertations, journals,

or technical reports. Students will learn both conceptual and technical aspects of

location and dispersion measures, regression and correlation, hypothesis testing, z-

tests, t-tests, and analysis of contingency tables.

Statistics

Statistic is a broad subject with applications in vast variety of fields. The word

“statistics” is derived from the Latin word “Status”, which means a political state.

Statistic is a branch of knowledge that deals with facts and figures. The term statistics

refers to a set of methods and rules for organizing, summarizing, and interpreting

information. It is a way of getting information from data.

right from the beginning of the research when the whole plan for the research,

selections of design, population, sample, analysis, tools and techniques etc., is

prepared. Planning and carrying out research project and trying to analyze data

without using statistical techniques will carry away from the objectives of the study.

In research and particularly in educational research following questions cannot

be answered without the use of proper statistical techniques; what kind and how much

data we need to collect? How should we organize and summarize the data? How can

we analyze the data and draw conclusion from it? How can we access the strength of

the conclusion and evaluate them uncertainty?

Statistics also has necessary functions such as; to present facts in definite

form, to simplify unmanageable and complex data, to use techniques for making

comparisons, to enlarge individual experience, to provide guidance in the formulation

of policies and to enable measurement of the magnitude of a phenomenon which

greatly help researchers in understanding the data provided.

Statistics is  ‘the science concerned with developing and studying methods for

collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting empirical data.’

Statistics is a form of mathematical analysis that uses quantified models,

representations, and synopses for a given set of experimental data or real-life

studies. Statistics practically studies methodologies to gather, review, analyze and

draw conclusions from data. 

Statistics is a highly interdisciplinary field; research in statistics finds

applicability in virtually all scientific fields and research questions in the various

scientific fields motivate the development of new statistical methods and theory.
 Statistics is a science that deals with numerical facts that can be measured,

enumerated, and estimated. the facts are homogeneous and related to each other. For

any data, belief, thought, presupposition to become a fact, it must be accurate and

systematic.

Educational Statistics is the practice of teaching and learning of statistics,

along with the associated scholarly research. Statistics is both a formal science and a

practical theory of scientific inquiry, and both aspects are considered in statistics

education. Education in statistics has similar concerns as does education in

other mathematical sciences, like logic, mathematics, and computer science. At the

same time, statistics is concerned with evidence-based reasoning, particularly with the

analysis of data. Therefore, education in statistics has strong similarities to education

in empirical disciplines like psychology and chemistry, in which education is closely

tied to "hands-on" experimentation.

*Reaction on the course study

Statistics education research over the last decade has emphasized the need for

reform in the teaching of statistics with a growing body of research in this area. An

increasing number of scientific publications devoted to this topic indicates that

statistics education is developing as a new and emerging discipline (Garfield & Ben-

Zvi, 2008).

However, research on the teaching and learning of statistics remains

disconnected, fragmented, and difficult to access (Zieffler, Garfield, Alt, Dupuis,

Holleque, & Chang, 2008). Students’ attitudes and beliefs can impede (or assist)

learning statistics and may affect the extent to which students will develop useful

statistical thinking skills and apply what they have learned outside the classroom. And
also, Gal, Ginsburg and Schau (1997, p. 38), students’ attitudes and beliefs regarding

statistics deserve attention for three reasons: 1. their role in influencing the

teaching/learning process; 2. their role in influencing students’ statistical behavior

after they leave the classroom; and 3. their role in influencing whether or not students

will choose to enroll in a statistics course later on, beyond their first encounter with

statistics.

Researches concluded that Educational Statistics help other researchers and

students in vast amount of fields.

Through these course I learned that Educational Statistic can help train your

mind to think about how data is organized, hypotheses, and what samples of data

mean. The skill sets that you practice and apply in a statistics class can be transferred

and used in many different subject areas.

Statistics is challenging for students because it is taught out of context. Most

students do not really learn and apply statistics until they start analyzing data in their

own researches. The only way how to learn cooking is to cook. In the same way, the

only way to learn statistics is to analyze data on your own.

Statistical knowledge helps you use the proper methods to collect the data,

employ the correct analyses, and effectively present the results. Statistics is a crucial

process behind how we make discoveries in science, make decisions based on data,

and make predictions.

It is mostly used to keep records, calculate probabilities, and provide

knowledge. Basically, it helps us understand the world a little bit better through

numbers and other quantitative information. Thus, the application of statistics is

evident in our everyday activities.

their ages, abilities and intelligence levels. It is statistics which tells us why thus

students who are similar in every other respect yet do not show similar achievement is

one particular subject.

This course provided a good understanding of how statistics play a major part

in life. Among other areas, statistics is the most commonly used research method in

medicine, education, psychology, business, and economics (Rumsey, 2002). It helps

to shape the choices people make in their everyday lives. Statistical studies may

provide a clear picture of the consequences.

After successfully completing this course, students are able to examine and

summarize data visually using tables and figures summarize data numerically using

descriptive statistics (measures of central tendency and variability), understand the

characteristics of theoretical distributions that are the basis of statistical analyses, test

research questions using inferential statistics, understand errors of inference that can

occur in hypothesis testing, communicate the rationale for and results of statistical

analyses and use statistical software to examine data and calculate descriptive and

inferential statistics.

*Reflection of the importance of the course study to current employment

Statistics is important to the teaching profession because it helps a teacher

know when teaching has effectively been done. They can use them to determine if the

class understands the material or if they need to cover more of it through

administration assignments/homework, tests and examinations.

Some of the importance of Educational Statistics is that it allows educators to

understand student performance using descriptive statistics, it allows educators to spot

compare different teaching methods using hypothesis tests.

The concept of statistics does not exist in oblivion as it has its origin traceable

to the existence of man and education. Every discipline has some unique and special

importance in any field of learning. The Importance of Statistics in Education is

referred to as ‘the essence and significance of statistics to every field of learning’

concerning mathematics, education, business, science, computer, history, etc., most

especially the importance and role of statistics in educational research.

Probably, no subject other than statistics demonstrates the existence of several

kinds of intelligence in different fields. Hence, statistics, if clearly understood, is a

fascinating subject that has tremendous importance in computer, philosophy,

mathematics, medical sciences, psychology, and education in general.

Statistics is a concept that is used most often in every field such as Economics,

Marketing, and Programming. It works hand-in-hand with Mathematics. Hence,

running away from Statistics is like running away from mathematics, you will be tired

at a moment. This article brilliantly discusses the role, importance, relevance, and

significance of Statistics in Education, and other fields of learning in extension.

Though Statistical approaches sometimes appear to be insignificant to be

noticed, it does not deny the degree of its value and significance in everyday life.

Student-learning is measured more than ever before, and that means that the

educational field needs professionals who have expertise in educational statistics and

measurement.

Education statistics can be widely used to understand how the average student

function with regards to certain ways of teaching and therefor helps teachers to

understand how to teach children/students in the best possible manner, so as to give

outliers react to certain ways of teaching as it will also help prevent them from

making trouble if the teacher can include them in discussions which they either find

too easy or to hard.

Statistics is an incredibly useful course and becomes an important part of life.

Confidence theory, null hypothesis, odds or likelihood and also research shows that

there is almost no end to the significance of statistics. The importance of statistics is

great because it provides detailed information about situations.

The purpose of this course is to present an introduction to statistics that

emphasizes on a conceptual understanding of statistical ideas, computer-based data

analysis, interpretation of results, and written communication of statistical procedures

and findings. 

*Bibliography

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of-statistics-in-education/2711

Broers, N. J. Learning goals: the primacy of statistical knowledge. 2006, Maastricht:

Maastricht University.

Chance, B. L. Components of statistical thinking and implications for instruction and

assessment. 2002, Journal of Statistics Education, 10(3)

Rumsey, D. J. Statistical literacy as a goal for introductory statistics courses. 2002,

Journal of Statistics Education, 10(3)

Garrett: H.E. (1956), Elementary Statistics, Longmans, Green, and Co. New York.
Roth, R.K. (1999): Fundamentals of Educational Statistics and Measurement,

Taratarini Pustakalaya, Orissa

Smart, O.U. (2020), Importance of Statistics in Education,

Machinep, https://machinep.com/importance-of-statistics-in-education.