A study on Multiple Intelligence of school students in Sri Lanka (In Gampaha District)

Abstract

Each person had a number of different forms of intelligence in different levels according to the theory of Multiple Intelligence. Nowadays in educational field Multiple Intelligence (MI) plays a vital role. Application of MI theory helps students to understand how they are intelligent and teachers, school administrators and parents can better understand the learners of them. As a result it was important to study the Multiple Intelligence (MI) of school students in Sri Lanka. Therefore Objectives of this research were, to identify the different MI of students and how MI differ in terms of gender among the school students in Sri Lanka. Selected sample was 144 school students from grade 11 in Gampaha District as respondents. To collect the data questionnaire was used. Data were analyzed by using simple statistical methods. The findings of this study showed that all intelligence were possessed by the students either in high, moderate, or low category. Intrapersonal intelligence became the highest intelligence among the nine types of MI. Moreover, other types of MI in high category were interpersonal and existential intelligence. The other types were in moderate category, were visual-spatial, verbal-linguistic, musical-rhythmic, logical- mathematic, bodily-kinesthetic and naturalist intelligence. In terms of gender, the study revealed, male students significantly possessed higher in bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal and existential intelligence. Female students were significantly higher in intrapersonal, interpersonal, naturalist and existential intelligence. Both genders higher in intrapersonal and existential intelligence. Male students are higher than female students in logical-mathematic, bodilykinesthetic and existential intelligence. Female students are higher than male students in verbal-linguistic, visual-spatial, musical-rhythmic, intrapersonal, interpersonal and naturalist intelligence.