  Despite more than a decade of reform efforts, students continue to experience
difficulty understanding and applying statistical concepts. The predominant
focus of reform has been on content, pedagogy, technology and assessment, with
little attention to instructor characteristics. However, there is strong
theoretical and empirical evidence that instructors' attitudes impact the
quality of teaching and learning. The objective of this study was to develop
and initially validate a scale to measure instructors' attitudes toward
reform-oriented (or concept-based) teaching of introductory statistics in the
health and behavioral sciences, at the tertiary level. This scale will be
referred to as FATS (Faculty Attitudes Toward Statistics). Data were obtained
from 227 instructors (USA and international), and analyzed using factor
analysis, multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis. The
overall scale consists of five sub-scales with a total of 25 items, and an
overall alpha of 0.89. Construct validity was established. Specifically, the
overall scale, and subscales (except perceived difficulty) plausibly
differentiated between low-reform and high-reform practice instructors.
Statistically significant differences in attitude were observed with respect to
age, but not gender, employment status, membership status in professional
organizations, ethnicity, highest academic qualification, and degree
concentration. This scale can be considered a reliable and valid measure of
instructors' attitudes toward reform-oriented (concept-based or constructivist)
teaching of introductory statistics in the health and behavioral sciences at
the tertiary level. These five dimensions influence instructors' attitudes.
Additional studies are required to confirm these structural and psychometric
properties.
