Civic statistics and the preparation of future secondary school mathematics teachers

Statistics education in Germany at secondary and tertiary level is lagging behind the demands for engaged citizenship in the information age. We detected students’ deficiencies in statistical literacy especially in regard to understanding multivariate phenomena which are common in data about society. Thus we started to change the way statistics is taught by introducing elements of what we call civic statistics into the curriculum for students preparing to be secondary school mathematics teachers. Focusing on critical questioning and critical thinking one element is dealing with the understanding and interpretation of short data-based statements.