Determining multiple intelligences pre-school children (4-6 age) in learning process

This study investigated the tendency of using dominant multiple intelligencetypes of the children aged four to six in learning and it aimed at determining whetherchildren?s intelligence type differ depending on their parents? educational level,career and SES or not. The sample comprised 232 children and 232 parents who wererandomly selected from seven schools in Çanakkale city centre in 2004-2005academic years, three of which were private kindergartens and four of which werestate kindergarten embedded in state primary schools.In this study, the data were collected by means of a questionnaire applied tothe parents and TIMI (Teele Inventory Multiple Intelligences). The data wereanalysed by using descriptive statistics, percentages, and frequencies. T tests,Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficients, and ANOVA techniques wereused to find out whether significant differences exist among groups.The study results indicated that the dominant intelligence type of the childrenparticipated in the study among the seven intelligence types was Visual-SpatialIntelligence and the others were as listed: Bodily-Kinaesthetic Intelligence, Logical-Mathematical Intelligence, Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence, Interpersonal Intelligence,Intrapersonal Intelligence, and Musical Intelligence. It was pointed out that the scoreof the Interpersonal Intelligence of the female children was higher than the malechildren. The distribution of the intelligence types in term of sex factor revealed thatfemale children prefer to use Visual-Spatial Intelligence in the first palace, nextBodily-Kinaesthetic Intelligence and then Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence; whereasmale children prefer to use Visual-Spatial Intelligence in the first palace, nextBodily-Kinaesthetic Intelligence and then Logical-Mathematical Intelligence.The study results exposed that there was a significant statistical relationamong the dominant intelligence type used in learning and socio-economic level ofthe students, their parents? educational level, and mothers? careers (p<0.05).It is revealed that there was not a significant statistical relation betweenchildren?s? dominant intelligence type used in learning and their fathers? career(p>0.05).Key Words: Pre-school Education, Intelligence, Theory of MultipleIntelligences and Learning.