The present study aimed to analyze the relationships among multiple intelligences, interest in courses and their achievements of middle school students and to explore the factors having impacts on these achievements in an effort to provide basic data ...
The present study aimed to analyze the relationships among multiple intelligences, interest in courses and their achievements of middle school students and to explore the factors having impacts on these achievements in an effort to provide basic data required to map out teaching plans in consideration of learners' characters.
For this aim, data concerning multiple intelligences, interest in courses and achievements were collected from 362 male and female students enrolled in the coed middle schools in Jeonbuk provincial area. The collected data were put to analyses including Pearson product moment correlation (r) analysis, F-test and multiple regression analysis depending on the question to each subject. The subjects of this study were also analyzed generally as well as by difference of sex.
The outcomes of the study conducted in the manner described above might be summarized as follows:
First, in terms of correlation among factors of multiple intelligences and interest in courses of the students surveyed, there was high grade of possibility that linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences are related to the interest in courses and academic performances.
As for correlation between factors of multiple intelligences and academic performances of the surveyed, linguistic intelligence turned out to feature great correlation between achievements of the Korean language and those of social studies, while logical-mathematical intelligence showed correlation between achievements of mathematics and those of science.
High correlation was found between the grade of interest in same courses and achievements of such courses as part of correlation between the interest of all the students surveyed in same courses and their achievements.
By gender, male students yielded generally higher correlation between the factors of multiple intelligences and interest in courses than their female counterparts, but showed lower or very little correlation between naturalist intelligence and interest in courses.
Except for the case of higher correlation between logical-mathematical intelligence and achievements in science as factors of multiple intelligences and academic achievements by gender, male students were found to have stronger relation between all factors of multiple intelligences and academic achievements of courses.
There was difference in pattern by gender as for correlation between the grade of interest in courses and their achievements. In other words, male students demonstrated higher correlation between the interest in the Korean language and its achievements as well as between the interest in mathematics and its achievements whereas female students indicated higher correlation between the interest in social studies and its achievements as well as between the interest in science and its achievements.
Second, there was significant difference in the interest in courses and achievements of the students surveyed by three levels of intelligence such as linguistic, logical-mathematical and interpersonal ones when it comes to the relation between the interest in courses and achievements by level of multiple intelligences. No significant difference, however, was found in the interest in courses and achievements by three levels of naturalist intelligence, that is in the relation between the interest in mathematics and 4 other courses.
With regard to the relation between the interest in courses and achievements by level of multiple intelligences by gender, there was a same correlation pattern in the interest in courses and achievements by three levels. That it, a significant difference was confirmed in the interest in courses and achievements in the same pattern by three levels of linguistic, logical-mathematical and naturalist intelligences regardless of gender. In interpersonal intelligence, however, a significant difference turned out to exist in the interest in courses and achievements in the different pattern by gender.
Third, from the analysis of multiple intelligences and interest in courses that have influence upon achievements of the whole students surveyed, it became evident that linguistic intelligence appeared to be the variable having the biggest influence on achievements of 4 courses. The multiple intelligences and interest in courses were the variables exerting great impacts regardless of gender. The linguistic intelligence, for example, was the variable influencing achievements of Korean; interest in mathematics its achievements, interest in social studies in its achievements and interest in science in its achievements turned out to be as variables that have great influence regardless of gender. For male students, interest in mathematics was the variable exercising influence on all courses while, for females, interest in social studies impacted only its achievements. The 4 factors of multiple intelligences had no influence on the achievements of social studies, though.
In conclusion, interest in courses, not intelligence, is the very variable that is closely connected with academic performances for every course. It is therefore requested for teachers who are in charge of instruction to develop and apply a good variety of strategies to promote interest of learners in the courses they teach.