Young children's role-playing for enhancing personal intelligences in multiple intelligences theory

This article examines young children's role-play in an effort to develop methods with which teachers can enhance children's interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. Examining how MI practice is applied in different cultural and social contexts is important because it can provide new insights on enriching and enhancing curricula and instructional methods to early childhood educators and practitioners all over the world. This research was conducted in South Korea at a university laboratory school where a curriculum based on the Multiple Intelligences theory was employed. In order to examine how role-playing was implemented and what aspects of social and emotional competences were promoted, this research using a qualitative research method focused on a pod class designed to enhance personal intelligences. The pod class was composed of nine, three to five year-old children who were identified as having strengths in interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. Close examination of teacher-child and child-child interactions during role-playing enabled the researchers to identify the structure of the role-plays and specific content areas of personal intelligences addressed. Importance of using role-plays to enhance children's personal intelligences and strategies to guide children in improving their personal intelligences are discussed.