Is intelligence negligible?

Is intelligence essential for a good school performance? In this book considerable doubt is cast on this premise. An extensive study conducted in seven countries (Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, and the USA) compiled responses to questionnaires filled out by more than 2,500 secondary school students along with their parents and one or two of their teachers. It shows that the self-confidence of the students along with their willingness to subordinate themselves to school regulations are of more importance than intelligence. The results of the study are presented with painstaking attention to details of cross-culturally comparative social research. A student's self-confidence apparently stems more from satisfaction inside the family and general school structure and not directly from achievements. The study demonstrates that in all countries surveyed the students' evaluations of school work depend greatly on personality characteristics given recognition by their teachers and the students' willingness to adapt, and has less to do with the individual student's skills. In consideration of these findings the author of the book demands new priorities be set in teacher education: more emphasis must be placed on guiding students and less on instruction. At the same time, he demands changes in the school psychology advising programs that would move away from the sort of counselling centered primarily on the student to a systemic family oriented brand of counselling.