‘What’s the Fucking Point of This?’: Addressing Student Attitudes towards Quantitative Methods in Sociology for Enhanced Graduate Outcomes

Quantitative methods (QM) are characterised as ‘hard to teach’ and often marginalised in undergraduate Sociology curricula particularly in the UK, due to many factors, including students’ attitudes towards numbers. This can lead QM to be viewed by students as not mainstream Sociology. This article argues that QM can support Sociology graduate futures due to clear transferable skills. But QM must be taught in a way that does not ‘trigger’ students’ negative dispositions towards the subject. This article, using the example of a large introductory undergraduate QM module, outlines a pedagogic approach that addresses students’ attitudes to QM, while building learner confidence. Key elements of this approach to QM include storytelling, relevance, support and value. This article ends with a discussion of the efficacy of this framework based on a two-year evaluation.