Multiple intelligence: a comparison between different educational centers of a university

Abstract

This study examined whether there are differences between the students of the Center for Applied Social Sciences of the Regional University of Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil, and students of the science centers for Education, Health, Natural and Exact Sciences, Humanities and Communication, Law and Technologies regarding the presence of skills and characteristics related to each multiple intelligence (MI). Therefore a quantitative survey of a descriptive nature was carried with a structured questionnaire given to 386 students. Data was analyzed using average percentages of MI and multivariate statistics. Main results show that students from the Center for Applied Social Sciences differ from those of science centers for Technologies and Natural and Exact Sciences in logical-mathematical intelligence, from those of Health and Technologies, in spatial intelligence and from those of Health in bodily-kinesthetic intelligence and those differences may be related to characteristics of each area of knowledge. It is suggested that the Center for Applied Social Sciences seek to stimulate development of spatial, linguistic and natural intelligence that scored lower, as well as to increase learning by use of interpersonal intelligence, which was more evident in the students