Traveling with MI education in a turbulent sea: stories of South Korea

The purpose of this paper is to explore ways in which multiple intelligences (MI) theory has been disseminated in search of its meaning, effectiveness and possibilities over the last decade in Korea. There have been a great number of Korean practitioners who have properly applied an ideal of MI theory in their local context. Western readers will be informed of how actively these educators participate in the grass‐roots reform process. A traditional or teacher‐based image of Oriental education culture may have to be redefined, at least in the current Korean educational context. In doing so, the authors reviewed related literature and research articles written by Korean scholars and practitioners as well as conducting in‐depth and focus‐group interviews nationwide to represent voices of Korean MI educators at school level. There has been substantive evidence that most students guided by MI instruction demonstrated better achievement in several subject areas; students typically labeled low achievers in traditional classrooms became better self‐regulated learners, showing higher self‐esteem. Finally, the Korean research community experienced the emergence of a new collaborative research culture in which MI educators are fully acknowledged as curriculum designers and researchers able to gain insight into culturally appropriate classroom practices. The authors end this paper reflecting on a future hope that the Korean research community will continue, both critically and collaboratively, to examine MI theory to make it more applicable in establishing culturally relevant pedagogical insights.