Effectiveness of an interactive scenario-based educational intervention to improve attitudes toward sports statistics: a quasi-experimental study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v72.116894Keywords:
Attitude, learning, students, physical education, teaching methodsAbstract
Introduction: Attitudes toward statistics are a determining factor in academic performance and in the ability to collect, organize, analyze, and interpret data in sports science.
Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention based on interactive scenarios on attitudes toward sports statistics in university students.
Methodology: Quasi-experimental, interventionist study with a pretest-posttest design. The intervention consisted of a 16-week educational program based on interactive scenarios, integrating digital resources, tutorials, and practical activities. Fifty university students studying sports science participated. Attitudes were measured before and after the intervention using the Attitudes Toward Statistics-36 (SATS-36) questionnaire, which measures six dimensions: affect, cognitive competence, value, difficulty, interest, and effort. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and the student's t-test to identify differences.
Results: A significant improvement was observed in perceived learning difficulty (p < 0.001), indicating a reduction in affective-cognitive barriers. Changes were observed in the dimensions of affect (M: 4.26± 0.57 vs 4.15±0.73), value (M: 5.31± 0.88 vs 5.06±0.90), cognitive competence (M: 4.55± 0.78 vs 4.29±0.75), and effort (M: 6.26± 0.81 vs 6.01±0.76), which were not significant.
Conclusions: Educational interventions in interactive settings may be a promising strategy for improving attitudes toward statistics, especially in reducing the perception of difficulty. These findings support the incorporation of active and innovative methodologies in the teaching of statistics.
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