Relationship between Multiple Intelligence and Achievement in Mathematics among Secondary School students: A Comparative study of Government and Private schools

Abstract

<title>Abstract</title> <bold>Background:</bold> While Multiple Intelligence (MI) theory has been widely implemented in educational settings, empirical evidence linking MI profiles to mathematics achievement in Indian contexts remains limited, particularly in comparative analyses of government and private schools. <bold>Methods:</bold> This cross-sectional study examined 550 Grade 10 students (275 government, 275 private schools) from Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh (2022). Students responded to a validated 90-item inventory of MI (Cronbach's α = .89-.93) and a standardized 50-item mathematics achievement test (KR-20 = .88). The data were subjected to analysis by means of independent t-tests, chi-square tests, MANOVA, hierarchical multiple regression, and multicollinearity diagnostics. <bold>Results</bold> Private school students significantly outperformed government school students in every MI domain and in overall mathematics achievement (Cohen's d = 0.32-1.06, all p &lt; .001). Chi-square statistics revealed that there were significant differences in the profiles of MI in both types of schools (χ² = 28.64–67.38, p &lt; .001). Logical-mathematical intelligence (β = .48, p &lt; .001), linguistic intelligence (β = .22, p &lt; .001), and spatial intelligence (β = .15, p &lt; .01) were the three most significant predictors of performance in mathematics, indicating 61.3% variance. The effect of school type on the relationship between logical-mathematical intelligence and achievement was significant (β = .12, p &lt; .05). VIFs were between 1.23 and 2.87 without indication of multicollinearity. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> MI patterns are strong predictors of mathematics achievement with unique trajectories for different types of school, indicating that the educational environment drives changes in student thinking and the applicability of cognition to academic outcomes. Results All the findings show that there is an advantage for teaching opting for the MI strengths of the students, specifically in the less privileged schools (government schools).

Affiliated Institutions

• Acharya Nagarjuna University IN

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