La Teoria delle Intelligenze Multiple di Howard Gardner a supporto del lavoro dell’assistente sociale

This research pivots around the Theory of the Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner (1983) and the work of the social worker whose task is to assess the needs and the resources available in order to put in place the correct strategies for an effective support and development. In the first part this dissertation will illustrate the main theoretical and methodological principles that are at the base of this research. The theoretical frame I refer to is both historical and cultural. The society is seen as a cluster of interactions among individuals and at the same time as a symbolic order-the culture- which guides the individuals to act in a certain ways, following targets, resources, their understanding of the world and the people which are shared and comprehensible. (BRUNER, 1987). It is important to underline how relevant is the informal aspect of the process of understanding , since this belongs to everyone, unlike the acquisition of scientific knowledge. This very first type of notions, mostly involuntary, are given the name of ‘naïve theories’. They result from our past experiences, and throughout our personal history, they are modified, implemented, preserved or swapped with other notions. This research starts with a doubt: its aim is to understand if the job of a social worker, whichever the methodological approach, can be sustained by the Theory of the Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner. In order to achieve this task two researches have been carried out . One explores the ‘naïve theories’ of intelligence in a broader context, the other is a research-action (?) /experience at the Centro Diurno Fenice in Pesaro. In the first case I have observed the naïve theories in relation to the intelligence in a group of social workers members of the Ordine della Regione Marche alongside a group of students at their first year at the University of Teorie, Culture e Tecniche del Servizio Sociale in Macerata and attending the course of Metodi e Tecniche di Analisi dei Processi Psicologici. The result was the image of individuals showing an intelligence which can be compared to the Personal and Logical-Mathematical intelligence studied by H. Gardner. Similarly, the least intelligent individual shows weaknesses within the same Intelligences. Even their support strategies seem to draw from Personal skills or other skills related to the Logical-Mathematical Intelligence. The research – action / action of research was carried out through a cycle of 10 meetings with parents, students and workers and with a theoretical practical technique pivoting around the Theory of the Multiple Intelligences. The activities carried out by these groups of people were studied to help them gain more awareness of their own intelligences, examining and valuing them. The ‘naïve theories’ related to the intelligence were gathered both before and after the meetings. The analysis of the data gathered during the research – action / action of research at the Centro Diurno Fenice showed that before the experience, the image of the young person is punctiform/like a point and static. Intelligent is the person who can solve problems, who can face any situation, who can adapt to any environment. I consider intelligent the man or the woman who can adapt to the environment or to the stimuli safeguarding themselves. Being intelligent means being able to avoid unpleasant situations for themselves or for others, it means not causing damages or not getting fooled by false promises. After the experience the image of the young person is dynamic, articulated and takes into consideration passions, hobbies, being prepared to put oneself on the line, to experiment the outside world and oneself. Some elements encourage the intelligence to explore, not just to avoid and prevent. Even the support strategies seem to take different shapes before or after the experience. In the first case they have a regulating purpose - making sure you respect the principles of behaviour, you live your life following the rules, they protect me from making mistakes -my intelligence now has the purpose of preventing mistakes that could be irreversible, and fix any false step – it corrects errors. In the second case, i.e. after the experience, the support strategies become flexible and can take multiple shapes: they help the young person to experiment different situations so that they can increase the value and develop their abilities. The support strategies become real through the use of the channels of personal intelligence together with other intelligences. To conclude, the job of the social worker can be supported by the Theory of the Multiple Intelligences for several reasons. It helps to create an image of our own intelligence, therefore an image of ourselves and of the others, more articulated and in different shapes. But it also offers different support strategies which therefore respect our own individual strengths and weaknesses.