Educational and Cognitive Perspectives

Educational psychologists seek to maximise a child’s learning potential and attainment, whilst academics (including psychometricians and developmental and applied psychologists) have long focused on how best to characterise, measure and develop intelligence in young people given its association with academic attainment. In this chapter we illustrate the convergence of these approaches by discussing how and why the conceptualization of intelligence has changed since the 1900s (from the classical, deficit approach, through to revisionist, strengths-based approach), the respective merits and problems with them, and how they have shaped contemporary educational practice. We can apply the notion of intelligence to the ‘real world’ context of education by posing a number of key questions, including:
• How does the ethos of each approach influence measurement and application?
• To what extent are socio-cultural influences emphasized and acknowledged across perspectives?
• How does each approach view the relationship between personality and intelligence?
• Is it possible to cultivate intelligence through educational interventions and what role do self-beliefs (metacognition) play in this?
We conclude by highlighting the need to understand ‘success’ through ‘intelligence’ from a more holistic and inclusive perspective, including broader character strengths beyond intelligence.
At the end of this chapter you will be able to:
1. Describe the historical and cultural underpinnings of key theories of intelligence that have been applied to education
2. Understand the shifting definition of intelligence, as viewed by classicists (Binet), developmentalists (Piaget), and revisionists (Sternberg, Gardner, Mayer & Salovey)
3. Appreciate the translation of intelligence theory to measurement, and its utility within the education domain
4. Explain the application of theory to educational practices and interventions
5. Contrast the success of the revisionist intelligence movement (Gardner, Sternberg, Mayer & Salovey) and strengths-based approaches (mindset theory; character strengths) to teach adaptive skills for successful learning and academic achievement
6. Evaluate the role that metacognition (beliefs about intelligence) may play in facilitating learning and academic achievement