Promoting students’ multiple intelligences through music education in the context of Chinese high schools

Abstract

The development of students' multiple intelligence has been discussed worldwide. In China, the Ministry of Education released the Compulsory Education Curriculum Development Program and Standards (2022 Edition) in 2022, which sets out the requirements for developing students' core competencies. The content of core competencies emphasizes students' comprehensive literacy, which is highly associated with multiple intelligences theory. In the field of music education, the traditional form of single-discipline training is difficult to develop students' comprehensive literacy and therefore would not enhance their core competencies. Thus, whether and how music education could promote students' multiple intelligences development through the integration of multiple intelligences theory has attracted authors' attention. This study proposed two questions: 1) Can the application of multiple intelligences theory in music education promote the development of multiple intelligences in Chinese high school students?; 2) Which types of intelligence are promoted by the application of multiple intelligences theory in music education? This study used the quantitative data analysis method. The experiment divided the experimental and control groups through control variables for data investigation. Through convenient sampling, 84 high school students from Beijing, China, were invited as participants. Statistical methods were used for data analysis. The study found that: 1) The application of multiple intelligences theory in music education can promote the development of multiple intelligences in Chinese high school students; 2) The linguistic intelligence, visual-spatial intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, musical intelligence, interpersonal intelligence and intrapersonal intelligence of Chinese high school students were facilitated by the application of multiple intelligences theory in music. Although this study has certain limitations, it provides a reference for music and multiple intelligence teaching.