Chapter 5: Developing Successful Intelligence in all Children: A Solution to Underachievement in Ethnic Minority Students

Boring (1923) defined intelligence as what intelligence tests test. In a symposium on experts' definitions of intelligence (“Intelligence,” 1921), researchers emphasized the importance of the ability to learn and the ability to adapt to the environment. Sixty-five years later, Sternberg and Detterman (1986) conducted a similar symposium in which learning and adaptive abilities retained their importance. A new emphasis emerged: metacognition, or the ability to understand and control one's self. Metacognition is key to successful intelligence. This chapter defines successful intelligence and explores its applications, suggesting the development of successful intelligence as a solution to underachievement in ethnic minority students.