CONTEXTUALIZATION OF SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE: CORRELATION BETWEEN SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE, SPATIAL ABILITY, AND GEOGRAPHY SKILLS

This research attempted to find whether spatial intelligence (without context) has a correlation to (contextual) spatial ability and affects geographic skills as crystallized ability (Gc). It employed the descriptive method with subjects including students at the primary, junior high, and senior high schools. The data were collected through two instruments, namely test and questionnaire. Data of test results were processed by tabulation technique and correlated for the scores of spatial intelligence, spatial ability, and geographic skills. The results show that spatial intelligence (Gf) tended to increase from the level of primary to junior high and to senior high school level, whereas spatial ability (Gc) and geographic skills (Geo-s) tended to decrease. Despite the decline, all three (Gf, Gc, and Geo-s) had the potentials for improvement. Thus, geography teachers are encouraged to participate in improving students' spatial and geographic skills, so students can develop their potentials optimally for geographic skills and future career development.