The Character Education Revolution: The Impact of Multiple Intelligence-Based Reading Learning on Student Development

Background/purpose. Character education has become a central focus in Indonesia's national education policy. However, conventional teaching methods still fail to address the diverse learning styles of students. The Multiple Intelligences (MI) approach offers a promising alternative to improving reading literacy and encouraging character development. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of MI-based reading instruction in improving literacy understanding and character values among students in Indonesia

Materials/methods. A mixed-methods design was applied, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative analysis was conducted using Item Response Theory (IRT), Differential Item Functioning (DIF), and Bayesian IRT modeling to evaluate literacy performance and character outcomes. Data were gathered from 1,480 students through pre-post testing, classroom observation, and interviews.

Results. Learning based on Multiple Intelligences has been proven to be effective in improving literacy while significantly shaping students' character. This model shows an even impact across different socio-economic backgrounds and types of schools, without showing bias against specific groups. Overall, the MI approach can be a strategic solution in answering the challenges of Indonesian education that demand a balance between academic achievement and the formation of 21st-century character values.

Conclusion. MI-based reading instruction proves to be an effective and equitable strategy for advancing literacy and nurturing student character in the Indonesian context. These findings provide strong evidence for policymakers to consider integrating MI pedagogy into the national curriculum as a foundation for holistic, character-driven education reform.

Keywords: Compound intelligence, literacy, character education, item response theory, Bayesian IRT

References

Alavarce, D. C., de Medeiros, M. L., de Araújo Viana, D., Abade, F., Vieira, J. E., Machado, J. L. M., & Collares, C. F. (2024). The progress test as a structuring initiative for programmatic assessment. BMC Medical Education, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05537-5

Amelia, D., Qathrunnada, N., Arafah, B., & Pendidikan, J. (2024). Variabel yang Memengaruhi Kemampuan Variables Affecting Reading Literacy Ability of Indonesian Students : An Analysis Using the MARS Approach. Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Kebudayaan, 9(2), 9–12. https://doi.org/10.24832/jpnk.v9i2.4966

Andrews, T. (2021). Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice and the OECD PISA Global Competence Framework. Journal of Research in International Education, 20(2), 154–170. https://doi.org/10.1177/14752409211032525

Androwski, R., Popovitchenko, T., Smart, J., Ogino, S., Wang, G., Rongo, C., Driscoll, M., & Roy, J. (2024). Analysis of Categorical Data with Logistic Regression and the Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel Tests in Biological Experiments. BioRxiv, 2011–2024.

Anggraena, Y., Ginanto, D., Felicia, N., Andiarti, A., Herutami, I., Alhapip, L., Iswoyo, S., Hartini, Y., & Mahardika, R. L. (2022). Panduan Pembelajaran dan Asesmen. In Badan Standar, Kurikulum, Dan Asesmen Pendidikan Kementerian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, Dan Teknologi Republik Indonesia. Jakarta: Kementerian Pendidikan Kementerian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi.

Anning, A. S. (2025). Professional learning facilitators’ contribution to sustainable STEM teacher learning in regional contexts. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 8(2), 33–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2024.100406

Argina, A. W., Mitra, D., Ijabah, N., & Setiawan, R. (2017). Indonesian PISA Result: What Factors and What Should be Fixed. Reading, 371(500), 39.

Armstrong, P. B. (2017). Conflicting readings: Variety and validity in interpretation. UNC Press Books.

Beardsley, M., Albó, L., Aragón, P., & Hernández-Leo, D. (2021). Emergency education effects on teacher abilities and motivation to use digital technologies. British Journal of Educational Technology, 52(4), 1455–1477. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13101

Birhan, W., Shiferaw, G., Amsalu, A., Tamiru, M., & Tiruye, H. (2021). Exploring the context of teaching character education to children in preprimary and primary schools. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 4(1), 100–117. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2021.100171

Boisgontier, M. P., & Cheval, B. (2016). The anova to mixed model transition. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, Vol. 68, pp. 1004–1005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.05.034

Bürkner, P. C. (2021). Bayesian Item Response Modeling in R with brms and Stan. Journal of Statistical Software, 100(5), 1–54. https://doi.org/10.18637/JSS.V100.I05

Cao, Z.-Y., Lin, F., & Feng, C. (2024). Interpretation of course conceptual structure and student self-efficacy: an integrated strategy of knowledge graphs with item response modeling. BMC Medical Education, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05401-6

Cavas, B., & Cavas, P. (2020). Multiple intelligences theory—Howard Gardner. Science Education in Theory and Practice: An Introductory Guide to Learning Theory, 405–418.

Chen, J. (2023). 2018 Assessment from the Perspective of Multiple Intelligences Theory. Contemporary Intellectual Assessment: Theories, Tests, and Issues, (August 2018), 164–173.

Christensen, J. H. (2024). Gender and socio-economic perspectives on students' emotional well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research in Comparative and International Education, 19(3), 301–320. https://doi.org/10.1177/17454999241265966

Corcoran, R. P., Cheung, A. C. K., Kim, E., & Xie, C. (2018). Effective universal school-based social and emotional learning programs for improving academic achievement: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 50 years of research. Educational Research Review, Vol. 25, pp. 56–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2017.12.001

Creswell, J. D., Pacilio, L. E., Lindsay, E. K., & Brown, K. W. (2014). Brief mindfulness meditation training alters psychological and neuroendocrine responses to social evaluative stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 44, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.02.007

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Method Approaches. New Delhi: Sage Publications, Inc.

De Ayala, R. J. (2018). Item Response Theory and Rasch Modeling. In The Reviewer’s Guide to Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences: Second Edition (pp. 145–163). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315755649-11

DİAZ, E., BROOKS, G., & JOHANSON, G. (2021). Detecting Differential Item Functioning: Item Response Theory Methods Versus the Mantel-Haenszel Procedure. International Journal of Assessment Tools in Education, 8(2), 376–393. https://doi.org/10.21449/ijate.730141

Du, S. S., Hu, W., & Lee, J. D. (2018). Algorithmic regularization in learning deep homogeneous models: Layers are automatically balanced. Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems, 2018-Decem, 384–395.

Dweck, C. S., & Yeager, D. S. (2021). A Growrh Mindset About Intelligence. Handbook of Wise Interventions: How Social Psychology Can Help People Change, 9–35.

E.Goldberg, D., & Scheiner, S. M. (2023). ANOVA and ANCOVA: Field Competition Experiments. In Design and Analysis of Ecological Experiments (pp. 77–98). https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195131871.003.0005

Elçi, A. (2019). An urgency for change in roles: A cross analysis of digital teaching and learning environments from students and faculty perspective. In Handbook of Research on Fostering Student Engagement With Instructional Technology in Higher Education (pp. 462–483). https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-0119-1.ch025

Elena, A. L., & Suzana, M. S. (2016). John Dewey’s educational theory and educational implications of Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory. International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education, 4(2), 57–66.

Esti, I., Hersulastuti, H., Indiyah, P. A., & Kun, A. A. (2023). Portrait of education in Indonesia: learning from PISA results 2015 to present. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 22(1), 321–340.

Falandays, J. B., Kaaronen, R. O., Moser, C., Rorot, W., Tan, J., Varma, V., Williams, T., & Youngblood, M. (2023). All intelligence is collective intelligence. Journal of Multiscale Neuroscience, 2(1), 169–191.

Fenanlampir, A., Batlolona, J. R., & Imelda, I. (2019). The struggle of Indonesian students in the context of TIMSS and Pisa has not ended. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 10(2), 393–406.

Gardner, H. (2020). A synthesizing mind: A memoir from the creator of multiple intelligences theory. mit Press.

Gilgor, D. M., & Autry, C. W. (2012). The Role of Personal Relationships in Facilitating Supply Chain Communications: A Qualitative Study. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 48(1), 24–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-493X.2011.03240.x

Iliyasu, R., & Etikan, I. (2021). Comparison of quota sampling and stratified random sampling. Biometrics & Biostatistics International Journal, 10(1), 24–27. https://doi.org/10.15406/bbij.2021.10.00326

Jackson, L. (2025). Schools don’t care: Rearticulating care ethics in education. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 57(3), 212–221. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2024.2367548

Karseth, B., Bernotaite, S., & Sundby, A. H. (2024). The OECD’s narrative on the future curriculum: issuing values. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 10(2), 155–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/20020317.2024.2361937

Lazear, E. P. (2019). Productivity and wages: common factors and idiosyncrasies across countries and undustries. NBER Working Paper, No. 26428.

Lertsakulbunlue, S., & Kantiwong, A. (2025). Evaluating the dependability of peer assessment in project-based learning for pre-clinical students: a generalizability theory approach. BMC Medical Education, 25(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-06772-0

Lickona, T. (1992a). CHAPTER VII CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CLASSROOM. Character development in schools and beyond. In Character development in schools and beyond (Vol. 3).

Lickona, T. (1992b). CHAPTER X CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IN THE FAMILY. Character Development in Schools and Beyond, 3, 201.

Limeri, L. B., Carter, N. T., Choe, J., Harper, H. G., Martin, H. R., Benton, A., & Dolan, E. L. (2020). Growing a growth mindset: characterizing how and why undergraduate students’ mindsets change. International Journal of STEM Education, 7(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-020-00227-2

Lu, R.-S., Lin, H.-C. K., Yang, Y.-C., & Chen, Y.-P. (2024). Integrating Urban Mining Concepts Through AI-Generated Storytelling and Visuals: Advancing Sustainability Education in Early Childhood. Sustainability (Switzerland), 16(24). https://doi.org/10.3390/su162411304

Morgan, H. (2021). Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory And His Ideas On Promoting Creativity. In In F. Reisman (Ed.), Celebrating Giants and Trailblazers: A-Z of Who’s Who in Creativity Research and Related Fields (pp. 124–141).

Nugroho, B. I., & Murtopo, A. A. (2023). Prediksi Kemampuan Akademik Mahasiswa dengan Metode Support Vector Machine. REMIK: Riset Dan E-Jurnal Manajemen Informatika Komputer, 7(1), 177–188.

Nuryanti, L., Zubaidah, S., & Diantoro, M. (2018). Analisis Kemampuan Berpikir Kritis Siswa SMP. Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, Dan Pengembangan, 3(2), 155–158.

Oberle, E., Domitrovich, C. E., Meyers, D. C., & Weissberg, R. P. (2016). Establishing systemic social and emotional learning approaches in schools: a framework for schoolwide implementation. Cambridge Journal of Education, 46(3), 277–297. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2015.1125450

Pratiwi, Y., Andajani, K., Suyitno, I., Ismail, A., & Prastio, B. (2023). Representing and Implementing Moral Values to Foreign Students in Indonesian Textbooks for Learners Other Than Indonesians. International Journal of Language Education, 7(1), 58–76. https://doi.org/10.26858/ijole.v1i1.36256

Qian, Y., & Lehman, J. (2017). Students’ misconceptions and other difficulties in introductory programming: A literature review. ACM Transactions on Computing Education, Vol. 18, pp. 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1145/3077618

Quirke, B. (2017). Making the Connections: Using Internal Communication to Turn Strategy into Action, Second Edition. In Making the Connections: Using Internal Communication to Turn Strategy into Action, Second Edition. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315249971

Ryan, K., & Lickona, T. (1992). Character development in schools and beyond. 3, 382.

Shearer, C. B., & Karanian, J. M. (2017). The neuroscience of intelligence: Empirical support for the theory of multiple intelligences? Trends in Neuroscience and Education, 6(4), 211–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tine.2017.02.002

Siswanto, E., & Hidayati, L. (2021). SUPERVISI PENDIDIKAN,“Menjadi Supervisor yang Ideal.” Unnes Press.

Sullivan, M., Kelly, A., & McLaughlan, P. (2023). ChatGPT in higher education: Considerations for academic integrity and student learning. Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching, 6(1), 31–40. https://doi.org/10.37074/jalt.2023.6.1.17

Sumiati, I. D., Mahanal, S., & Zubaidah, S. (2018). Potensi pembelajaran RICOSRE pada peningkatan hasil belajar kognitif siswa kelas XI. State University of Malang.

Suryadarma, D., & Jones, G. W. (2013). Education in Indonesia. In Education in Indonesia. https://doi.org/10.2307/3023860

Thambu, N., Prayitno, H. J., & Zakaria, G. A. N. (2021). Incorporating Active Learning into Moral Education to Develop Multiple Intelligences: A Qualitative Approach. Indonesian Journal on Learning and Advanced Education (IJOLAE), 3(1), 17–29. https://doi.org/10.23917/ijolae.v3i1.10064

Ukanda, F., Othuon, L., Agak, J., & Oleche, P. (2024). Effectiveness of Mantel-Haenszel And Logistic Regression Statistics in Detecting Differential Item Functioning Under Different Conditions of Sample Size, Ability Distribution and Test Length. American Journal of Educational Research, 7(11), 878–887.

Verhagen, J., Levy, R., Millsap, R. E., & Fox, J. P. (2016). Evaluating evidence for invariant items: A Bayes factor applied to testing measurement invariance in IRT models. Journal of Mathematical Psychology, 72, 171–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmp.2015.06.005

Wafula, N., & Ongunya, R. O. (2016). Project Based Learning on Students’ Performance in the Concept of Classification of Organisms among Secondary Schools in Kenya. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(16), 25–31.

Wechsler, S. M., Saiz, C., Rivas, S. F., Vendramini, C. M. M., Almeida, L. S., Mundim, M. C., & Franco, A. (2018). Creative and Critical Thinking: Independent or Overlapping Components? Thinking Skills and Creativity, 27, 114–122.

WEF. (2023). Future of jobs report 2023. In World Economic Forum.

Wijaya, T. T., Hidayat, W., Hermita, N., Alim, J. A., & Talib, C. A. (2024). Exploring contributing factors to PISA 2022 mathematics achievement: Insights from Indonesian teachers. Infinity Journal, 13(1), 139–156. https://doi.org/10.22460/infinity.v13i1.p139-156

Winarti, A., Yuanita, L., & Nur, M. (2019). The effectiveness of multiple intelligences based teaching strategy in enhancing the multiple intelligences and Science Process Skills of junior high school students. Journal of Technology and Science Education, 9(2), 122–135. https://doi.org/10.3926/jotse.404

Winataputra, U. S., & Setiono, S. (2017). Pedoman Umum Penggalian dan Perwujudan Nilai Akhlak Mulia Bagian Penguatan Pendidikan Karakter (PPK). Kementrian Pendidikan Dan Kebudayaan Direktorat Jenderal Pendidikan Dasar Dan Menengah.

Woodcock, S., & Anderson, J. (2025). Conceptions to classrooms: The influence of teacher knowledge on inclusive classroom practice. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 8(2), 37–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2024.100412

Yu, Z., Guindani, M., Grieco, S. F., Chen, L., Holmes, T. C., & Xu, X. (2022). Beyond t test and ANOVA: applications of mixed-effects models for more rigorous statistical analysis in neuroscience research. Neuron, Vol. 110, pp. 21–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2021.10.030

Zamora-Polo, F., & Sánchez-Martín, J. (2019). Teaching for a better world. Sustainability and Sustainable Development Goals in the construction of a change-maker university. Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(15), 4224. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11154224

Announcement

EDUPIJ Citation Metrics

EDUPIJ News!