Application of Multiple Intelligence Theories in Elementary School

Abstract

Knowledge of the theory of multiple intelligences (MI) is of great importance for teachers, in order to be able to recognize students' affinities, and motivate and guide them in encouraging them. Often, teachers are not familiar with the aforementioned theories or have only mentioned them during their studies. Therefore, if teachers do not know how to recognize them in practice, they cannot help students develop and improve their intelligence. This paper will present teachers' attitudes towards understanding MI, encountering them through education, and obstacles to recognizing them. The respondents were teachers (N=25), and the results were collected via a questionnaire, where the teachers shared their experiences on the aforementioned issue. The results are presented qualitatively using a descriptive method. Although the subjective views of teachers were presented, they will provide insight into an important issue that has rarely been researched in schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The shortcoming of this paper is in the small sample of respondents, and certainly leaves room for more recent MI research, with the aim of providing support to students in order to become familiar with and develop in the field of MI.