The mental field of study is considered as one of the areas that have captured a great deal of interest from researchers in the psychological and educational sciences. Researchers face several challenges in the study of intelligence. This led to the emergence of several trends’ attempt to interpret the intelligence. One of these trends is the traditional trend, which considers intelligence as a general mental ability; while there is another view of intelligence that states intelligence is a set of multiple mental abilities or multiple intelligences. The classical traditional theory of intelligence is based on the idea of ​​general ability (Jarwan and Abdel, 2016). Al-Eid (2014) study confirmed that the theories interpreted intelligence focused on few mental abilities and neglected the ones that are related to humanistic, existential, spiritual, and physical domains.

The psychologist scientist, Thorndike, was the first to categorize intelligence into three types of capacity: mechanical ability, abstract ability, and marital ability. Another theorist Gilford argues that the basic types of intelligence include mental processes, contents, and outputs (Wahsha, 2012). However, in the last quarter of the twentieth century, a remarkable progress was achieved in this direction. For example, Howard Gardner, the author of “Frames of Mind”, presents a theory of multiple intelligences, where he lists seven types/ modalities of intelligences and they are: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intra-personal intelligence (Al-Sharbini and Sadik, 2002). Gardener kept on developing his efforts in this field and in 1996 he added another type, naturalistic intelligence (Jarwan and Abdel, 2016), then he added a new modality, existential intelligence, as the ninth type in the list of multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1999).

These types of intelligences are characterized by being flexible, not rigid, which can be developed across an individual's life. Furthermore, Gardner divided individuals into three categories, i.e. Individuals with multiple intelligences: high-growth, medium growth, and those with low growth in these intelligences (www.Kenanaonline.com). Subhi (2018) argues that each person possesses different degrees of intelligence (IQ), which represents independent mental abilities that any person is able to form and adapt within his cultural context in several manners. In this regard, the multiple intelligences theory highlights the importance of providing adequate environmental opportunities such as social groups or circles to reinforce and activate these types of intelligence (Mahmood, 2017).

The multiple intelligences theory envisages that intelligence as a concept is not only one type; but so many types, and the level of intelligence (IQ) varies from one person to another. Everyone has a unique personal combination of these types, in that using one of these types could contribute in developing a new one (Saeed, 2017).

Gardner and Hatch (1989) believe that while these intelligences are anatomically separate, they rarely operate individually and independently; rather, it works in a harmonious, consensual and complement each other. When an individual develops a skill or solves a problem, he/she uses most of these intelligences. For instance, students who need to excel academically, will use mathematical or logical, linguistic, intrapersonal intelligence, and interpersonal intelligence; each one performs differently. From this view, Al-Ali (2017) points out that the multiple intelligences theory contributes in refreshing the educational work leading its ideas toward the learner and his effective role in the learning process; taking students individual differences into consideration, and as consequence, its principles focus on the students’ interests and tendencies.

Moreover, Rayan (2013) opines that there is a statistically significant differences in the level of the types of intelligence due to students gender in favor of the female students; in contrast, Al-Obaidi (2016) study findings shows that there are no statistically significant differences in students existential intelligence among university students due to gender and specialization, and there is a statistically significant difference due to academic level in favor of the fourth year students. The multiple intelligences theory states that these types of intelligence is not the end of its effort, by continuous research  there is possibilities of   suggesting   new  types such as sexual and digital intelligence, therefore the theory claims the necessity of reviewing the nature of these types in light of biological background (Mohammad, 2015).

Moreover, Gardner (1983) defines intelligence as the "ability" or "a biological and psychological potential" to process information that could be activated in a cultural context to solve problems or to create a valuable product in a culture. Thus, intelligence from Gardner's point of view is a set of skills that enables the individual to solve problems and the abilities that enable individual to produce something of appreciation and social value. Also, it is the ability to add new knowledge, in other word it is not a one-dimensional concept, but a multidimensional one (Ahmed, 2003). The contributions of Gardener in this field are substantial, whereas, he defines existential intelligence as the ability to think abstractly and think about life, death and beyond nature (Gardner, 1983). Gardner believes that existential intelligence is half intelligence, since he was unable to determine its biological location or its location in the human brain; but there is constant research in the field of multiple intelligences so as to verify the validity of its existence in humans (www.Kenanaonline.com).

Existential intelligence is concerned with the study of the science of existence, thinking and contemplation of existence, the creation of the universe, and the issues of life. This intelligence is often expressed by philosophers, and the individual, who possesses this type of intelligence, always tends to ask questions about multitude of issues such as: the existence of man and death, and questions about who we are, where we come from, why are we here and why do we die (Checkley, 1997). Moreover, Individuals with existential intelligence have an understanding of their ideas, which are sharp and they tend to understand and interpret new ideas through their own ideas and experiences (McCoog, 2010). A note worth mentioning is that, the previous studies conducted on existential intelligence are rare and scarce, for the best of the researcher's knowledge. The researcher will present these studies on two domains. The focus is on existential intelligence in particular, which is rare as mentioned earlier, and multiple intelligences theory.

One of the previous studies on existential intelligence is the study of Sawadi et al. (2017) that aim at investigating the degree of existential intelligence among bachelor students in the Faculty of Education in Iraq, and to identify whether the existential intelligence varies according to gender variable. The sample of the study consists of 168 students and the study tool was existential intelligence scale. The results indicate that the degree of existential intelligence among the students of the Faculty of Education was average and the results also indicated that there were statistically significant differences according to gender variable in favor of female students.

Al-Zubi et al. (2015) conducted a study aimed at identifying the level of existential intelligence among the students of the Faculty of Education at Yarmouk University in Jordan. Findings revealed that the level of existential intelligence among students of the Faculty of Education was medium. The results also showed that there is a statistically significant difference in the effect of gender on females and the existence of statistically significant differences due to the variable of student level in favor of fourth and third year students. However, there were no significant differences due to the interaction effect between the gender of the student and his/her academic level.

Shearer (2005) aims to identify the association of existential intelligence with other types of intelligences. The study sample consists of 547 male and female students divided into three groups: secondary school students, university students, and teachers. The results showed that the order of existential intelligences of the sample came last among other intelligences (43.2). The results showed also, that the means of the teachers' class reached 56.6 and the university students with means of (45.06) and finally the secondary school students with means of (37.6). The rest of the mean values ​​for the other types of intelligences ranged from 40.9 to 55.7 at medium level.

Al-Rabee (2013) studied the level of spiritual intelligence among students of the Faculty of Education at Yarmouk University in Jordan and to attain whether this level varies according to the student's gender and level of achievement. The sample consisted of 256 students from the bachelor level. The results indicated that the level of spiritual intelligence was medium. There were statistically significant differences in the effect of gender on the level of spiritual intelligence, while there were statistically significant differences in the level of spiritual intelligence and the exclusion of critical existential thinking according to the variable of achievement in favor of higher achievement.

Al-Alwan (2010) identified the preferred intelligences according to the theory of multiple intelligences among the students of the fourth and eighth grades students in Jordan. The sample consisted of 623 students. The results showed that most of the preferred intelligences among the fourth-grade students include linguistic, logical, spatial and bodily-kinesthetic intelligences; while Eighth grade students prefer bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, musical, and the naturalistic. The results showed that the least intelligence preference was interpersonal and existential. With regard to gender, the male students prefer skills that highlight logical and bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, while musical intelligence is the female preference.

Nofel and Alhilah (2008) investigated the differences in multiple intelligences among first year students of the institutions of higher education in UNRWA in Jordan. The results show that the most common types  are:  linguistic, intrapersonal, bodily-kinesthetic, existential, spatial, mathematical-logical, naturalistic and musical, chronologically. The results also shows that there are statistically significant differences according to gender variable in mathematical, spatial, interpersonal, and existential intelligence, in favor of females; while the difference in musical intelligence was in favor of males and there is absence of differences in linguistic, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalistic and intrapersonal intelligences according to gender variable.

Dsouza (2006) aims to identify the types of intelligences among students of the Department of Architecture at one of the US universities with a sample of 100 students in the second year. The results show that the Architecture students displayed their spatial, naturalistic and logical intelligence.

In summary, previous studies which examined existential intelligence are still limited and rare in comparison to the large number of studies on the theory of multiple intelligences as a whole. This shows the importance of conducting more studies on existential intelligence as a measure, and taking multiple samples of university students. Perhaps this study is distinguished because it discusses existential intelligence among graduate students. In addition the study variables are not covered in previous studies.

The problem of the study

The theory of multiple intelligences is based on the assumption that individuals possess multiple types of abilities; as a result, they do not all learn in the same way. However, each person has all types of intelligences in varying degrees and proportions and can develop these types of intelligences through training. From this point of view, it is important to investigate existential intelligence among graduate students. So, this study attempts to reveal the degree of existential intelligence in a sample of graduate students. The problem significance stems from the lack of studies on existential intelligence and lack of accessibility to graduate students in particular. This prompted the researcher to conduct this study, so as to obtain if there are differences in the level of existential intelligence attributed to gender, specialization and years of experience, marital status, and work type. Specifically, this study attempts to answer the following questions:

Question 1: What is the degree of existential intelligence in a sample of graduate students at the World Islamic Sciences University?

Question 2: Are there significant differences at the level of significance (p ≤ 0.05) in the degree of existential intelligence in a sample of graduate students at the World Islamic Sciences University attributed to: gender (male, female),  specialization   (counseling,   special   education and, Curriculum), years of experience, marital status (married, single), work type (governmental, private section)?

Operational definitions

1. Existential Intelligence: The sum of respondent scores on existential intelligence scale used in this study.

2. Graduate students: All graduate students enrolled in the Faculty of Educational Sciences and registered officially for the 2017-2018 academic year. Those students are divided into three specializations as follows: psychological counseling, special education, curriculum and teaching.

 

The study aims to identify the degree of existential intelligence in a sample of graduate students at the World Islamic Sciences University in Jordan. To fulfill this aim the quantitative research method was applied, using the descriptive survey which is more appropriate for the subject of the study. The researcher identified the study population, which the sample of the study was chosen from. The researcher distributed the tool to the sample, and was later retrieved from the sample.

Population and the sample of study

The study population comprises all graduate students in the Faculty of Educational Sciences at the World Islamic Sciences University, Jordan and is registered officially for the 2017-2018 academic year. The total number of students is 169, consisting of 66 students in the field of psychological counseling, 64 students in  special  education, 69 students in the specialization of curricula and teaching. The sample of the study involves 56 students who were randomly selected by 33% of the study population. Table 1 shows the distribution of the study sample.

 

 

Tool of the study

The study uses the existential intelligence scale developed by Al-Zubi et al. (2015) which was derived from Shearer's (2005) scale. The measure consists of 20 items, in the current study. Some items of the scale were modified in terms of wording or method, thus the scale in its final version consists of 20 items.

Validity of the scale

The validity of scale in its original form

Al- Zubi et al. (2015) verified the face validity of the scale by presenting it to seven referees who hold a Ph.D. degree and are experts in the field. The suggested modifications are made on the basis of the opinions of the referees in terms of language mutation, internal structure validity and using Likert-type response scale. The validity in terms of scale internal structure was calculated using correlation coefficient for each item of the scale and the total score on the scale on a sample of (55) male and female students from outside the study sample. The values ​​of correlation coefficients between the items and the total score ranges from 0.250 to 0.626, which are statistically significant values ​​indicating the validity of the scale.

Validity of scale in the current study

The scale was verified in its initial form by a group of professors from ten Jordanian Universities. They presented their opinions and observations on the relevance of the standard clauses, as well as the clarity of its language formulation. Their remarks were taken into consideration.

Reliability of the scale

Reliability of the scale in its original form: The reliability of themeasure was determined using two methods: the consistency of scale scores using Cronbach Alpha coefficient, where the scale was applied to a sample of (45) students from outside the study sample (alpha=0.84); and the second method was stability coefficient using the test-retest method on a sample of (45) students from outside the sample of the study with two weeks period on the same sample, where the value of Pearson correlation coefficient between the two applications was (0.87).

Reliability of the scale in the current study: The study instrument reliability was examined using two methods: The consistency of scale scores using Cronbach Alpha coefficient. The internal consistency coefficient was 0.776 and the test-retest method was utilized by presenting the questionnaire to 20 individuals from outside the study sample, and the stability coefficient of the test using the Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated between the results of the two applications. The stability coefficient in this method was 0.810, which was an acceptable stability coefficient indicating the reliability of the measure.

Procedures of the study

1. The tool of the study was developed and the psychometric properties were verified: validity and reliability.

2. The researcher identified the study population, where a formal statistics was requested and officially provided from the department of admissions and registration at the world Islamic Sciences University in Jordan. The researcher then chose a random sample of 33% of the study population.

3. The study tool was distributed on the sample after clarifying the objectives of the study and the mechanism for responses.

4. The study tool was retrieved from the sample by 100% respondent rate.

5. Data was entered into the computer and processed statistically.

 6. The average score of responses was divided into three categories (high, medium, low) according to the following formula: Length of the period = the range of the scale divided by the number of scale categories, that is, (5-1)/3 = 1.33.

The categories are as follows: 1- 2.33 (Low); 2.34- 3.67 (average); 3.68-5 (high).

Study variables

Independent variables

This study included the following five independent variables:

1. Gender: male, female.

2. Student specialization: Psychological counseling, Special education, Curriculum and teaching.

3. Marital status: single, married.

4. Years of experience: 1 - 5 years, 6 - 10 years, 10 years and above.

5. Work type: governmental and private sector.

Dependent variables

This is the degree of existential intelligence.

Statistical analysis

The researcher used the Statistical Package for social Sciences (SPSS) to conduct the necessary analyses and statistics for the questionnaire data. In order to answer the first question, the means, standard deviations, rank and degree were used. To answer the second question, means, standard deviations and (t-Test) for independent samples and one way analysis of variance (One-way ANOVA) were used.

 

This section includes an overview of the findings of this study by answering its questions as follows:

The degree of existential intelligence among a sample of graduate students at the World Islamic sciences University

To answer this question, the means and standard deviations of the existential intelligence level were calculated in a sample of graduate students at the World Islamic Sciences University, as shown in Table 2.

 

 

This result is consistent with the results of the study of Sawadi et al. (2017), Al-Zubi et al. (2015), Nofel and Al Hilah (2008); it disagrees with Shearer (2005) which found that the degree of existential intelligence came to low score. It also disagrees with the results of Alwan (2010).

The differences in the degree of existential intelligence in a sample of graduate students at the World Islamic Sciences University due to variables: gender (male, female); specialization (counseling, special education and, curriculum); years of experience; marital status (married, single); and work type (governmental, private sector). This question was answered as follows:

Gender variable

The means and standard deviations of the existential intelligence level in a sample of graduate students at the World Islamic Sciences University were calculated using the gender variable (male and female). The t-test is also shown in Table 3.

 

 

The results in Table 3 indicate that there are no statistically significant differences at  p ≤ 0.05 for the degree of existential intelligence in a sample of graduate students at the  World Islamic Sciences University depending on gender variable (males, females) as t- value is calculated at 1.501 and at a significant level (0.139), which is not statistically significant. This result can be attributed to the fact that students, whether male or female, receive the same education and live in similar families and environment. The fact that this environment does not develop existential intelligence is reflected in both male and female students. This result is consistent with the results of Rabee (2013) study and in disagreement with the results of Swadi et al. (2017), Al-Zubi et al. (2015), Nofal and Alhilah (2008) studies

The specialization variable

The means and standard deviations of the existential intelligence level were calculated in a sample of graduate students at the World Islamic Sciences University according to the specialization variable (counseling, special education, and curriculum), as shown in Table 4.

 

 

Table 4 shows the existence of apparent differences between the means of the existential intelligence level in a sample of graduate students at the World Islamic Sciences University according to the variable of specialization (counseling, special education, and curriculum). The highest score was for the curricula with a mean of 3.73, followed by counseling with mean of 3.66 and finally  special  education  with  a  mean  of  3.61.  To determine whether the differences between the averages were statistically significant at the degree of significance (p ≤ 0.05), one way ANOVA was applied, and the results of the variance analysis were presented as shown in Table 5.

Table 5. Analysis of the ANOVA was conducted to find the significance of differences for the degree of existential intelligence in a sample of graduate students at the World Islamic Sciences University according to the variable of specialization (counseling, special education, and curriculum).

 

 

The results in Table 5 shows that there are no statistically significant differences at p ≤ 0.05 in the existential intelligence of a sample of graduate students at the World Islamic Science University according to the specialization variable (counseling, special education, and curriculum) based  on calculated F value  was 0.531 with a significance level of 0.591, which is not statistically significant. This result can be confirmed by the previous results. The lack of attention to the development of existential intelligence by the educational institutions has been reflected in the students, despite the different academic disciplines they study at the university. This result may have been consistent with previous results. There are no previous studies dealing with the study of this variable with existential intelligence due to the lack of studies on existential intelligence in general and perhaps this is what distinguishes this study.

Variable years of experience

The mean and standard deviations of the degree of existential intelligence in a sample of graduate students at the University of Islamic International Sciences were calculated according to the variable, years of experience. Table 6 shows statistically significant differences between the means of the existential intelligence level in a sample of graduate students at the World Islamic Sciences University according to years of experience variable. The highest rank was (6 to 10 years) of experience with a mean of 3.70.

 

 

The second rank goes for more than 10 years with a means of 3.68. Finally, the means for the 1- 5 years of experience is 3.63. To determine whether the differences between the means were statistically significant at the degree of significance (p ≤ 0.05). One-way ANOVA was applied as it is shown in Table 7.

 

 

 

The results in Table 7 indicate that there were no statistically significant differences at p ≤ 0.05 in the degree of existential intelligence in a sample of graduate students at the World Islamic sciences University according to years of experience variable, based on calculated F- value that got to 0.209, with a significance level of 0.812, which is statistically insignificant. This result shows the absence of the interest of practicing the existential intelligence. The sample refers to teachers, and this result indicates that there are no differences between them despite the different years of experience among them. This confirms the weakness and lack of application of existential intelligence or developing it among their students. There is a need to pay more attention to the development of existential intelligence. There are no previous studies for this variable.

Variable marital status

The mean and standard deviations of the existential intelligence level were calculated in a sample of graduate students at the World Islamic Sciences University for the variable marital status (married, single). The t-test is shown in Table 8.

 

 

The results in Table 8 indicate that there are no statistically significant differences at p ≤ 0.05 level of existential intelligence in a sample of graduate students at World Islamic Sciences University according to marital status (married, single)  based  on  calculated  T-value  at 0.970 and at a significant level of 0.336, which is not statistically significant. This finding, which leads to the results of the study, confirms the lack of interest in the development and training of existential intelligence in all. This confirms the need to further strengthen attention to the development of existential intelligence.

Work variable

The mean and standard deviations of the existential intelligence level were calculated in a sample of graduate students at World University of Islamic Sciences for the variable of the employer (governmental, private sector). The t-test is shown in Table 9.

 

 

The results in Table 9 indicate that there are no statistically significant differences at the level of (p ≤ 0.05) for the degree of existential intelligence in a sample of graduate students at World Islamic Sciences University based on the calculated T-value at 0.596 and at a significant level of 0.554, which is not statistically significant. This result can be explained in the light of the absence of attention to existential intelligence on all individuals according to their variables, which should lead to an increase in attention to this type of intelligence, through developing the capabilities and potential of individuals, as Gardner indicated. There are no previous studies on this variable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Review the educational curricula of different stages of study with the picture of the theory of multiple intelligences and exert more efforts to strengthen and enable the existential intelligence among students.

2. Conduct further studies on existential intelligence from different angles and domains and with other samples e.g. with gifted and talented students.

 

The author has not declared any conflict of interests.