The theory of multiple intelligences in the identification of high-ability students

Abstract

This study provides a framework to implement the theory of multiple intelligences (MI) in the identification of high-ability students in secondary education. The internal structure of three scales to assess students’ MI (students, parents and teachers’ ratings) was analyzed in a sample of 566 students nominated as gifted by their teachers. Participants aged 11 to 16 years (M = 14.85, SD = 1.08). The results indicated differentiated intellectual profiles depending on the informant estimating students’ MI. This study provided evidence for two components that allow us to analyze the cognitive competence of high-ability students beyond the areas commonly assessed at school: an academic component composed by the linguistic, logical-mathematical, naturalistic, and visual-spatial intelligences; and a non-academic component statistically loaded by the bodily-kinesthetic, musical and social intelligences. Convergence of the two components in the three scales was evidenced; and correlations between these components and students’ objective performance on a psychometric intelligence test were found to be low. Finally, the utility of the MI scales to identify high-ability students in secondary education is discussed.