Gender Stereotype and Motivation in Learning Statistics among Tertiary Students in Ghana

The present study has presented the effect of gender on tertiary students’ motivation, feeling of competence, relatedness and autonomy. The survey consists of cohort samples of 251 males and 78 females from tertiary institutions in Ghana. Non-parametric chi-square test of independence was used to assess the effect of gender on students’ motivation in learning statistics. The study results have indicated that students’ gender have no influence on the self-determination of student to learn statistics. The paper further revealed that students’ gender has no significant influence on the tertiary students’ need for competence, relatedness and autonomy. This study has established the fact that the tertiary students’ need for autonomy, relatedness and competence in learning statistics is independent of the students’ gender.