Development and Standardization of Tools Based on Multiple Intelligences Theory for Preschool Teachers and Children

Uniform assessment methods cater to the need of few children and exclude the need of rest as they focus on two or three intelligences. Multiple intelligences theory (MIT) is gaining momentum rapidly in education, as it is focusing on the multiple abilities of the children. The curriculum is implemented in varied ways in preschool setup, yet assessment of the same is questioned. Multiple assessment methods which are suggested by researchers are more subjective and hence might be biased if not used with expertise to identify the proclivity of MI. Therefore, there is emerging need of the tools with good psychometric properties for less time consuming assessment of the multiple intelligences (MI) preferences of teachers and children. Keeping this perspective, the present study was conducted at Mumbai, Maharashtra (India). The aim of this research was to develop and standardize tools to assess MI profiles of preschools teachers and children (3-4 years). Rating scale and questionnaire were constructed using items generated by detailed study of existing literature. Tools were content validated by three experts from field of child development and early childhood education. Construct validity was calculated by Principal Component Analysis with rotation method of Kaiser Normalization.Cronbach's Alpha,Split-half technique for reliability like Spearman- Brown and Guttman formulae were used to calculate reliability of the tool. Analysis of data was obtained from five point rating scale and questionnaire, administered to 100 teachers and 364 preschool children. Tools illustrated the good factor structure and high internal consistency.