Making the Connections, and Closing the Gaps - Is it really that hard?

While debate continues at the political level about exactly who it is policies should be targeted towards, the reality remains that there are significant gaps across a range of indicators between different groups in New Zealand. A failure to close these gaps has severe implications for New Zealand politically, socially and economically.

A recent Department of Corrections census reports that approximately 75% of all prison inmates, male and female, have no school qualifications. The question is, of course, to what degree there is a causal link. What is clear is that a failed learner is more likely to end up in prison.

Michael Resnick of the University of Minnesota has pulled together extensive research which shows that if you connect young [and not so young] people to learning, negative behaviours such as violence, use of drugs and alcohol etc. which are so costly to individuals, families and society are markedly reduced, levels of learning achievement improve, and as a result life's consequences are enhanced. We don't need research to tell us that; we can all tell stories of people whose lives have turned around when they switch on to learning.

In spite of the fact that concern about the kind of statistics highlighted in the Department of Corrections report has been expressed, in my personal experience, for at least 30 years numerous initiatives have failed, for example, to close the gaps between Maori and non-Maori educational achievement. One can't help but wonder therefore whether policy advisors and political decision makers have failed to come to grips with the real issues, and have instead focused on treating symptoms, rather than causes; have lacked the willingness or ability to make the necessary connections, and have failed to capitalise on what we now know on how to bring about improved learning for all children.

This article is about the connections, or more accurately the lack of connections, between national policy directions and what extensive international research is telling us about the nature of intelligence, how the brain works, and how people learn best.

The brain and the nature of intelligence

Advances in understanding of how the brain works have been dramatic in recent years, much arising from medical research and the advent of brain scanning techniques. Contemporary educational research now recognises that every child is a learner, and that the human brain has enormous capacity and potential that is largely undeveloped. Work in cognitive science [how people learn] shows that intelligence is not fixed genetically, and that it can be significantly enhanced. What is now recognised is that all children respond well in a loving, nourishing, challenging and stimulating learning environment.

Howard Gardner’s work on intelligences is now widely accepted. In his book Frames of Mind he outlines seven distinct intelligences:

• Linguistic Intelligence. The ability to read, write and communicate with words.
• Logical - Mathematical Intelligence. The ability to reason and calculate, to think things through in a logical, systematic manner.
• Visual - Spatial Intelligence. The ability to think in pictures, visualise a future result. You use it when you have a sense of direction, when you navigate or draw.
• Musical Intelligence. The ability to make or compose music, to sing well, or understand and appreciate music. To keep rhythm.
• Bodily-kinesthetic Intelligence. The ability to use your body skilfully to solve problems, create products, or present ideas and emotions.
• Interpersonal [Social] Intelligence. The ability to work effectively with others, to relate to other people and display empathy and understanding, to notice their motivations and goals.
• Intrapersonal Intelligence. The ability for self-analysis and reflection - to be able to assess one’s accomplishments, to review one’s behaviour, to make plans and set goals, to know oneself.

Traditional forms of assessment including IQ tests basically measure ability with words and numbers. Students naturally strong in linguistic and logical- mathematical intelligences do well. IQ tests are reasonably good predictors of success at school [and formal institutional learning] because the way teachers teach and the materials used in the classroom depend heavily on these two intelligences. However results from IQ tests and similar assessments, such as written pen and paper examinations, are not good predictors of economic success, of success in relationships, or of success in life. In modern society linguistic and logical-mathematical abilities are important but it is now recognised that successful learning and success in life depends on the ability to develop and utilise the full range of intelligences.