מ״ריקוד טנגו" ועד "חלום בלהות:" מטפורות של סטודנטיות להוראה ביחס ללמידת קורס סטטיסטיקה

Statistics is a mandatory course for students in the social sciences. However, research has shown that many students perceive this course as one of the most challenging in their curriculum. This mixed-methods study investigates social science undergraduates' perceptions of statistics through metaphor analysis. Pre-service teachers (N=98) in an introductory statistics course in a college of education provided metaphors describing their learning experience. Qualitative content analysis revealed four thematic categories: physical effort, cognitive effort, routine actions, and sensations. Predominantly negative metaphors emerged, reflecting students' perceptions of statistics as a challenging and irrelevant course. Quantitative analysis showed significant relationships between metaphor valence, statistics anxiety, and expected course performance. Students who used negative metaphors reported higher levels of anxiety about statistics and lower expected grades than those who used positive metaphors. The findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to address negative perceptions and anxiety in statistics education for social science students. This study contributes to understanding students' conceptualizations of statistics and informs pedagogical strategies to enhance learning experiences in introductory statistics courses. Keywords: metaphor analysis, mixed methods, statistics anxiety, statistics education, teacher education