The analysis of statistical graphs constructed by primary school teachers

Abstract

Background: Statistical graphs are widely used in society and are important in presenting data related to different topics. Statistics education aims improve the teaching and learning of statistics, which include the approaches to statistics graphs. Objectives: This article analyses the construction of statistical graphs by in-service teachers and their reasons for choosing these graphs. Design: It was conducted an empirical study from a qualitative perspective which investigated teachers' choices and constructions of statistical graphs. Setting and Participants: The participants were 22 primary school teachers from public schools located in Recife Metropolitan Area, Brazil. They expressed their intention to be interviewed when they responded to a questionnaire applied among a larger number of teachers. Data collection and analysis: The interviews were composed of two tasks comprised of statistical data in which participants had to choose a type of graph, justify the choice, and construct a graph of a chosen type. It was carried out a content analysis of speech protocols. Results: The reasons for participants' choices seemed to be related to their familiarity with the type of graph, and they constructed graphs with high levels of complexity. Conclusions: The results of this study emphasised the importance of primary school teachers developing specific knowledge about graphs through pre-service and in-service elementary school teacher education. The results from this research study offer new questions concerning the construction and the choice for statistical graphs, which include the influence of new technologies and the use of textbooks.