6.1 Intelligence and Educational Attainment

2026 Syllabus Objectives

  1. Candidates will consider explanations for inequalities in educational attainment relating to social class, ethnicity and gender, and continue their thinking about the key concept of Inequality and opportunity. In addition, candidates will examine cultural explanations for differences in educational attainment, which relates to the key concept of Socialisation, culture and identity.
  2. The difficulties in defining intelligence.
  3. IQ tests and the extent to which they are influenced by social factors.
  4. Intelligence as an influence on educational attainment.

The Difficulties in Defining Intelligence

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The Contested Nature of Intelligence 🧠

While 'intelligence' might seem relatively straightforward to describe and demonstrate, it is actually very difficult to define and its meaning is strongly contested. The concept has evolved significantly from earlier simplistic views.

Traditional vs. Modern Views:

  • Earlier perspective: Intelligence was viewed as binary—someone was either intelligent or they were not
  • Modern perspective: People have different capacities and abilities to different degrees; intelligence is not a single, unified trait

Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory

Howard Gardner (1999) revolutionized thinking about intelligence by arguing that there are at least seven distinct types of intelligence, including:

  • Linguistic intelligence: Ability with language and words
  • Logical-mathematical intelligence: Ability with numbers, logic, and abstract reasoning
  • Spatial intelligence: Ability to visualize and manipulate spatial relationships
  • Musical intelligence: Ability to understand and create music
  • Interpersonal intelligence: The extent to which an individual can empathize with others
  • Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: Physical coordination and body awareness
  • Intrapersonal intelligence: Self-awareness and understanding of one's own emotions

🔑 Key Term: Interpersonal intelligence (also called emotional intelligence) refers to the extent to which an individual can empathize with others.

Evidence for Multiple Intelligences

Ogundokun and Adeyemo (2010) conducted a significant study of Nigerian secondary school students that demonstrated:

  • It is possible to measure and quantify emotional intelligence
  • They found a strong correlation between levels of emotional intelligence and academic achievement
  • This supports the view that intelligence encompasses more than just traditional cognitive abilities

Key Implication: The diversity of intelligence types suggests that traditional measures of intelligence may be too narrow and fail to capture the full range of human cognitive abilities.

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