La question de l'éducation statistique et de la formation de l'esprit statistique à l'école primaire en France. Étude exploratoire de quelques caractéristiques de situations inductrices d'un enseignement de la statistique au cycle III

摘要

Our study is about the teaching of statistics to third cycle pupils in French primary schools, and more precisely, about the issue of statistical education and training of the statistical mind. In part I, we clarify the notions of statistical fact, statistical thinking and the statistical mind. We then analyze in part II the difficulties this teaching is currently faced with, due to the constant change of syllabus in primary schools, scrutinizing how future teachers, primary school teachers and pupils conceive statistics, aiming to reach continuity in the curricula from primary school all the way through to the end of secondary school. In part III, we dissect mathematics textbooks pupils use in the third cycle. This minute analysis highlights permanent features: tendency to convert implicitly statistical situations into arithmetical calculations; poor use of semiotic registers and semiotic learning paths; standardization of how statistics are represented and of the tasks required from the pupils and so on. Above all, we were able to draw a parallel with another of our researches exploring the textbooks that prepare school teachers for the competitive entry examination. Our conclusion is that the way the teaching and learning of statistics is generally perceived – also by the state education system - needs to be thoroughly reconsidered. Our work is supported by Guy Brousseau's theory of didactical situations, by Gérard Vergnaud's studies about conceptual fields and conceptualization, by Yves Chevallard's theory of didactical transposition and institutionalization of knowledge, by Jean-Claude Régnier's research on didactics of statistics and by Raymond Duval's work on semiotic registers in a child's learning.