Multiple intelligences and the social studies curricula of Greece and England: The cases of 1982-2005 and 1990-2005 reforms respectively

Abstract

The theory of Multiple Intelligences (M.I.) was inaugurated in 1983 by Howard Gardner who supports the position that intelligence is not of a sin­gle type-as measured by the I.Q.- but it is comprised of at least eight rela­tively different capabilities. Thus, it is of utmost importance that school activ­ities lead to all types of intelligences in order to suit better the needs of all students and not those who possess the advantage of having fluency in lin­guistic and logical-mathematical types of school subjects and activities, which seem to dominate all school subjects. Based on the above concep­tualization, we conducted a content analysis in the social studies curriculum objectives of Greece (1982-2005) and England (1990-2005) in order to ascertain how intelligent is the social studies curriculum in the above sub­jects in both countries and what varieties of intelligences are reflected in them. The results revealed that the array of MI, in both countries, is limited, with the exception of logical-mathematical and interpersonal intelligences. It is recommended that a multiplicity of intelligences ought to be cultivated in all school subjects through the multiple representation of content.