How Children with Different Dialects Navigated Uncertain Language in a Statistics Investigation

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Bibliographic Details
Title: How Children with Different Dialects Navigated Uncertain Language in a Statistics Investigation
Language: English
Authors: Mitali Thatte, Katie Makar, Nilesh Nimkar
Source: Statistics Education Research Journal. 2024 23(2).
Availability: International Association for Statistical Education and the International Statistical Institute. PO Box 24070, 2490 AB The Hague, The Netherlands. Tel: +31-70-3375737; Fax: +31-70-3860025; e-mail: isi@cbs.nl; Web site: https://iase-web.org/ojs/SERJ
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 15
Publication Date: 2024
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Grade 5
Intermediate Grades
Middle Schools
Grade 6
Descriptors: Children, Dialects, Statistics Education, Language Usage, Public Schools, Private Schools, Academic Language, Foreign Countries, Socioeconomic Status, Cultural Influences, Grade 5, Grade 6
Geographic Terms: India
DOI: 10.52041/serj.v23i2.740
ISSN: 1570-1824
1570-1824
Abstract: Language, culture, and conceptions of uncertainty can impact the way that students respond to a statistical investigation. The aim of this small exploratory study was to gain insight into how two groups of children (aged 9-12) speaking different home dialects adopted expressions of uncertainty in a standard dialect used in school, specifically the use of the Marathi word for "about." One group of children went to a government school where the home dialect differed from the standard dialect, while a second group attended a relatively elite private school where children spoke the standard dialect at home. Our findings suggest that children from both groups did not spontaneously use the word "about" while describing data even when nudged by the researcher to do so, though the children from the second group were more quickly able to adopt the word and use it in the way the researchers expected. The findings have the potential of exploring and impacting the influences of language on the learning of statistics in a non-Western culture.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1463177
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:Language, culture, and conceptions of uncertainty can impact the way that students respond to a statistical investigation. The aim of this small exploratory study was to gain insight into how two groups of children (aged 9-12) speaking different home dialects adopted expressions of uncertainty in a standard dialect used in school, specifically the use of the Marathi word for "about." One group of children went to a government school where the home dialect differed from the standard dialect, while a second group attended a relatively elite private school where children spoke the standard dialect at home. Our findings suggest that children from both groups did not spontaneously use the word "about" while describing data even when nudged by the researcher to do so, though the children from the second group were more quickly able to adopt the word and use it in the way the researchers expected. The findings have the potential of exploring and impacting the influences of language on the learning of statistics in a non-Western culture.
ISSN:1570-1824
1570-1824
DOI:10.52041/serj.v23i2.740