Journal of Social Issues & Humanities, Volume 2, Issue 12, December 2014

ISSN 2345-2633

The Relationship between Spiritual Intelligence,

Locus of Control, and Academic Procrastination
among Iranian High School EFL Learners
Farrokhlagha Heidari, Farnaz Imanpoor

Abstract The aim of the present study was to examine any relationship between Spiritual Intelligence (SI) and Locus of Control (LOC)
on the one hand, and any possible relationship between each of these two constructs and Academic Procrastination (AP) on the other
hand. Furthermore, the likely difference between internelizers and externalizers, which are two extremes of LOC, in terms of their SI and
AP was investigated. To this end, 90 second graders in four high schools in Birjand studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL)
completed the Persian version of the Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory, the Internal Control Index, and the Procrastination Scale-
for student populations. The results indicated a statistically significant positive relationship between SI and LOC, and a significant negative
relationship between LOC and AP. Putting in other words, internalizers were higher in the measure of SI, but lower in the measure of AP.
However, there was no significant relationship between SI and AP. Also, the findings revealed that there was a significant difference
between internalizers and externalizers regarding both their SI and AP.

Index Terms Academic Procrastination, Externalizers, Internalizers, Locus of Control, Spiritual Intelligence.

1 INTRODUCTION

T HE enduring variations between individuals have been

mainly focused in the field of psychology over the past
100 years or more (Nettle, 2009). So, Individual Differ-
ences (IDs) can be regarded as old, on one hand- from the time
of Hippocrates and his physician- and new, on the other hand-
with soaring recognition of the effects of their appropriate ap-
plication on enhancing the success margin of teaching and
learning, through appropriate meta-cognition and targeted
learning strategies (Ehrman, Leaver, & Oxford, 2003).
Recently, there has been a growing interest in exploring IDs in
different fields and there can be found some studies focusing
on this issue among ESL and EFL learners (Panahandeh, 2013;
Tsai & Li, 2012; Pishghadam & Zabihi, 2011, to name a few).
As Drnyei (2005) states IDs can be defined as dimensions of
enduring peculiarities that are applicable to anyone and differ
from one individual to another in terms of degree. It is widely
believed that IDs can consistently predict the L2 learning suc-
cess and correlate 0.50 and above with language attainment in
instructed settings. Going beyond L2 learning, the study of
IDs concerns some of the basic questions of our human exist-
ence in general, including matters such as personality, motiva-
tion, abilities, and the like.
In the narrowest sense, IDs in psychology have been consid-
ered equal with personality and intelligence (Snow, Cor-
no, & Jackson, 1996). Shifting to the broader interpretation of
the term, IDs include all areas of personality, interests and
values, spirituality, affective disposition, coping style, rela-
tionship style, self and identity, the individual in groups and
tests indicated the most intelligent and the best. A major
Assistant Professor, English Language Department, University of
Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran.
Corresponding Author, M.A. student in TEFL, English Language De-
partment, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran, Email:
imanpoor_f@yahoo.com
interpresonal contexts, attitudes and perceptions, cognitive
functioning, health and life style, assessment, and individ-
ual differences related physiological, organizational, and edu-
cational topics (Drnyei, 2005, p.7).
Focusing on the early representations of IDs, Locus of Con-
trol (LOC) as a psychological construct seems to be closely
linked to the motivation, and Spiritual Intelligence (SI) is an
ultimate intelligence resulting from the recent explorations in
the field of intelligence.
One of the hottest educational topics believed to be driven
from the IDs is procrastination. Procrastination is a subject
that has received a growing attention over the last couple dec-
ades. Researchers seem to delve more into the negative conse-
quences of this behavior in academic fields along with the con-
tributions of certain personal characteristics to it. Procrastina-
tion has been considered more to be a self-handicapping and
dysfunctional behavior, leading to significantly lower test
scores, stress, anxiety, suffering, poor health, and low self-
confidence (Perkins, 2009)
1.1 Review of Literature
Spiritual Intelligence
Although the construct of intelligence and intelligence testing
began to be explored in scientific theory and research in the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it is regarded as
one of the most controversial areas in psychological theory
and research even until now (King, 2008). From the beginning
of the twentieth century, human intelligence was equated with
the Intelligence Quotient (IQ). Simply people's scores on IQ
drawback of these tests was the exclusive measurement of
certain basic spatial, numerical, and linguistic abilities. By the
1960s, IQ tests and scores became very controversial. And in
the mid-1990s Daniel Golemans Emotional Intelligence was
welcomed as a new wave in the whole intelligence paradigm.

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Journal of Social Issues & Humanities, Volume 2, Issue 12, December 2014
ISSN 2345-2633
Toward the end of the 1990s, neurological research demon-
strated that the brain is comprised of a third kind of intelli-
gence known as Spiritual Intelligence (Zohar & Marshal,
2000).
In recent years, great controversy has been found among dif-
ferent researchers over the notion of Spiritual Intelligence in
different fields and each has proposed his/her own definition.
Although the literature has witnessed some research focusing
on this issue in the field of management and leadership (Fry &
Wigglesworth, 2010; Soebyakto & Ming,2012; Ziyaaddini &
Zande Moghadam, 2013, to name a few) as well as its correlate
psychological variables (forthcoming), even until now, little
research has been directed toward it in the field of language
teaching.
Amram (2007, p. 2) has defined SI as the set of abilities that
individuals use to apply, manifest and embody spiritual re-
sources, values and qualities in ways that enhance their daily
functioning and well-being. Students with high levels of SI
are more confident in taking an action. They are also able to
reconcile themselves in any condition, and create a good one
that improves their achievement in education as a whole (Has-
san, 2009).
King (2008) conducted a study on Rethinking Claims of Spir-
itual Intelligence: A Definition, Model, and Measure at the
Trent University, Canada. In this study, a four-factor model of
SI including critical existential thinking, personal meaning
production, transcendental awareness, and conscious state
expansion was proposed.
Babanazari, Askari, and Honarmand (2012) investigated the
relationship between SI and happiness among high school
students and concluded that there was a significant relation-
ship between them.
Koohbanani, Dastjerdi, Vahidi, and Ghanifar (2013) investi-
gated the relationship between Spiritual Intelligence (SI) and
Emotional Intelligence (EI) with Life Satisfaction (LS) among
gifted female high school students. The results revealed no
meaningful relation between SI and LS, but a meaningful one
between EI and LS. Also, SI together with EI had a meaningful
relationship with LS.
In another study, Azizi and Zamaniyan (2013) explored the
relationship between EFL learners spiritual intelligence and
their use of vocabulary learning strategies. The findings re-
vealed a statistically significant relationship between SI and
vocabulary learning strategies and a significant correlation
between all SI subscales and meta-cognitive and social strate-
gies. The results also indicated that females were superior in
comparison to males regarding their spiritual intelligence
scores.
Locus of Control
Many studies concerning psychological differences between
individuals have focused on the investigation of locus of con-
trol (Ghonsooly & Elahi, 2010). Locus of control refers to the
extent to which individuals perceive contingency relationships
between their actions and their outcomes (MacDonald, 1973,
as cited in Almajali, 2005).
Rotter (1966) developed a bipolar model for LOC, ranging
292
control from internal to external. He stated that those with an
internal LOC attribute their success or failure to internal mat-
ters like their own attempts and abilities, while the externals
believe that external forces which are out of their control like
fate and luck affect their achievement.
People with an internal LOC learn the new skills more easily,
since they care about the skills and they are perceived crucial
in furthering their goals. Such persons are more motivated
and more liable to learn. They are also more likely to develop
good study habits and a positive academic attitude (Mamlin,
Harris, & Case, 2001).
Previous studies have demonstrated a significant positive rela-
tionship between internal orientation and high academic
achievement. Findley and Cooper (1983, as cited in Heidari &
Khorasaniha, 2013) reviewed 98 studies focusing on the rela-
tionship between LOC and academic achievement. Seventy
percent of the studies revealed that internals had significantly
higher academic achievement than externals. It was also found
that males were more internal than females.
Hampton (2005) investigated the relationship between LOC
and procrastination. The results indicated a significant correla-
tion between procrastination and LOC. Participants who had a
higher score as a procrastinator, had scores indicating an ex-
ternal locus of control, and lower procrastinators showed an
internal locus of control.
Ghonsooly and Elahi (2011) examined the relationship be-
tween LOC and L2 reading and writing achievement among
EFL undergraduates. The results of the study indicated that
LOC had a positive correlation with the learners' L2 reading
and writing achievement. The learners were also interviewed
in hope of clarifying the details more. The results of the inter-
views supported the information previously gathered.
In another investigation into the self-handicapping behaviors
of undergraduates in terms of academic procrastination, LOC,
and academic success, Aka (2012) found a significantly posi-
tive relationship between self-handicapping, the external LOC
and academic procrastination and concluded that academic
procrastination, LOC, and academic success predicted self-
handicapping in terms of their explanation rates, respectively.
Heidari and Khorasaniha (2013) examined the relation be-
tween locus of control, multiple intelligences (MIs), and read-
ing proficiency among Iranian EFL learners. The results
demonstrated no significant relationship between LOC and
MIs; however, a significant positive relationship was found
between MIs and reading proficiency and also between LOC
and reading proficiency.
Academic Procrastination
Knaus (2000) called procrastination an ancient nemesis, ar-
guing that it parallels human civilization and may have origi-
nated 2.5 million years ago. However, little active research has
probed its forerunners and effects. Academic Procrastination
(AP) is a unique display of procrastinatory tendencies
(Mccloskey, 2011) and as Milgram, Mey-Tal, and Levison
(1998) have claimed the notion of procrastination has a long
history, but its popularization in academic studies dates back
just to the last 15-20 years.
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ISSN 2345-2633
Solomon and Rothblum (1984) have defined academic procras-
tination as postponing the homework completion, exams or
term papers preparation until deadlines approach. Regarding
why students procrastinate, they mentioned that although
assessment of academic procrastination had quite totally fo-
cused on the measurement of study habits, like minutes spent
studying and lessons completed in self-paced instruction
courses, anecdotal data from procrastinators uncovered many
other possible sources such as evaluation anxiety, decision
making difficulty, lack of assertion, rebellion against control,
fear of the results of success, and high perfectionist standards.
Beswick, Rothblum and Mann (1988) investigated the correla-
tion between academic achievements and academic procrasti-
nation behaviors of psychology students. The results demon-
strated a negative correlation between these two variables.
Sirin (2011) focused on whether general procrastination, aca-
demic motivation and academic self efficacy can predict aca-
demic procrastination among undergraduates. The results
showed a significant positive correlation between academic
procrastination and general procrastination, while the rela-
tionship between academic procrastination, academic motiva-
tion, and academic self-efficacy was not statistically signifi-
cant. Moreover, general procrastination was found to be a sig-
nificant predictor of academic procrastination.
Gargari, Sabouri, and Norzad (2011) investigated the relation-
ship between attribution and academic procrastination among
EFL undergraduate students. It was found that there was a
negative significant relationship between procrastination and
causal description of control source, and a positive one be-
tween procrastination and causal explanation of the failure
reasons. In other words, to the extent that the students attrib-
ute their success to internal matters like their personal ability,
to the same extent their procrastination decreases and to the
extent that they relate failures to stable factors, their procrasti-
nation increases.
The motive that led the researchers to focus on this topic is
that concerning SI, it has been rarely explored in the field of
language learning and teaching, specifically among EFL learn-
ers. Moreover, few cases have been recorded investigating AP
among Iranian EFL learners. Putting all three variables togeth-
er, there seems to be a great necessity in exploring them, to
bridge the present gap regarding the triple relationship of
them which seems to be an untouched one.
The present study aims to answer five main questions:
Q1. Is there any statistically significant relationship between
spiritual intelligence and locus of control among Iranian high
school EFL learners?
Q2. Is there any statistically significant relationship between
spiritual intelligence and academic procrastination among
Iranian high school EFL learners?
Q3. Is there any statistically significant relationship between
locus of control and academic procrastination among Iranian
high school EFL learners?
Q4. Is there any statistically significant difference between
internalizers and externalizres regarding their spiritual intelli-
gence among Iranian high school EFL learners?
Q5. Is there any statistically significant difference between
293
internalizers and externalizers regarding their academic pro-
crastination among Iranian high school EFL learners?
2 METHODOLOGY
2.1 Subjects
93 Iranian female second graders in four high schools in Bir-
jand, located in Southern Khorasan, studying EFL for two
hours a week took part in the present study. However, 3 par-
ticipants were excluded from the original sample because of
partial completion of questionnaires. So the final sample con-
sisted of 90 students ranging from 15 - 16 years old.
2.2 Materials
A) Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory (SISRI-24): The
Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory (SISRI-24) original-
ly developed by King (2008) was utilized to measure the par-
ticipants' SI. This scale contains 24 five-point Likert-type items
which produces a possible range of scores from 0 to 96 with
higher scores representing higher levels of spiritual intelli-
gence. For the sake of clarity and simplicity, the scale was
translated into the participants' mother tongue, i.e. Persian, by
Aghababaei, Farahani, and Mehrabadi (2011).
The reliability of the translated version through Cronbach's
alpha resulted in a coefficient of 0.88.
B) Internal Control Index (ICI): The Internal Control Index
(Duttweiler, 1984) translated into Persian by Ghonsooly and
Elahi (2010) was used to measure the participants' LOC. ICT
includes 28 five-point Likert-type items producing a possible
range of scores from 28 to 140 with higher scores reflecting
higher internal LOC and lower scores reflecting higher exter-
nal LOC (=0.82).
C) Procrastination Scale-for student populations: The Procras-
tination Scale-for student populations by Lay (1986) was used
to measure the participants' AP. This scale is comprised of 20
five-point Likert-type items with higher scores reflecting high-
er AP and lower scores reflecting lower AP. Again the Persian
version of the scale, translated into Persian by Sepehrian and
Hosseinzadeh (2012), was used. The reliability of the translat-
ed version was determined using Cronbach's alpha, and it
turned out to be 0.73.
2.3 Procedure
First of all, the participants were provided with a brief expla-
nation of the purpose of the study and the fact that there will
be no right or wrong answer and complete confidentiality of
their answers was also guaranteed. They were assured that
their teachers would not see the results of the questionnaires
in order to diminish any external pressure such as anxiety or
test stress. Then, the three questionnaires were distributed
among the participants in three separate sessions to avoid the
negative effects of boredom on the participants' answers. They
were required to choose the response which most accurately
describes them. As the last step, the SISRI-24 was rated, using
a five-point Likert type items, with possible responses of Not
at all true of me to Completely true of me, assigning no
Journal of Social Issues & Humanities, Volume 2, Issue 12, December 2014
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points for Not at all true of me, 1 point for Not very true of Std.
me, 2 points for Somewhat true of me, 3 points for Very Std. Devia- Error
LOC N Mean
tion
true of me, and finally 4 points for Completely true of me. Mean
Just for item 6, the response had to be reversed prior to sum- Internalizer 43 2.397 .521 .079
ming scores. SI
Externalizer 47 2.161 .452 .065
In the Internal Control Index, the five-point Likert type
items include Rarely, Occasionally, Sometimes, Frequently,
and Usually choices. The Rarely response was scored as TABLE 4
five points on items 1, 2, 4, 6, 11, 14, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 26, and BASIC DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF INTERNALIZERS' AND EXTER-
NALIZERS' AP
27; for the rest of the items, the response Usually received
five points. Std.
Std. Devia-
LOC N Mean Error
And finally the Procrastination Scale-for students popula- tion
Mean
tions was also scored using a five-point Likert type items
Internalizer 43 2.748 .436 .066
including Extremely uncharacteristic, Moderately uncharac- AP
teristic, Neutral, Moderately characteristic, and Extremely Externalizer 47 2.914 .304 .044
characteristic choices with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 points for each,
respectively. It seems noteworthy that items 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 3.2 Inferential Statistics
14, 15, 18, and 20 enjoyed a reversed scoring method. To answer the first question of the study concerning the rela-
tionship between the participants' SI and LOC, a Pearson
product correlation coefficient was run. Table 5 shows the re-
3 RESULTS sults.
3.1 Descriptive Statistics TABLE 5
Table 1 summarizes the descriptive statistics for the partici- THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SI AND LOC
pants' SI, LOC, and AP. LOC

Pearson Correlation 1
TABLE 1
BESIC DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS FOR SI, LOC, AP LOC Sig. (2-tailed)
N Mean Std. Deviation
SI 90 2.274 .498 N 90
LOC 90 3.231 .325
Pearson Correlation .288**
AP 90 2.835 .380
SI Sig. (2-tailed) .006
According to the above table, the participants proved to
N 90
have the mean score of 2.274 and the standard deviation of
.498 on the SI, and the mean score of 3.231 and the standard **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
deviation of .325 on the LOC. Moreover, the mean score of
their AP turned out to be 2.835 with the standard deviation of Table 5 demonstrates that the correlation coefficient is sig-
.380. -tive
Furthermore, the participants were required to be divided
into two groups of internalizers and externalizers. The me- .01, r = .288). In other words, students with higher LOC orien-
dian of the LOC scores should be used as the criterion for this tation who are internalizers are higher in their SI, too.
division (Heidari & Khorasaniha, 2013), which in the present To answer the second research question regarding the rela-
study turned out to be 90. Therefore, students with LOC tionship between the participants' SI and AP, again a Pear-son
scores above 90 were grouped as internalizers, and those with product correlation coefficient was utilized. The results are
scores below the median were considered as ex-ternalizers. summarized in the Table 6.
Table 2 demonstrates the percentage of internal-izers and ex-
ternalizers included in the sample of the present study. TABLE 6
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SI AND AP
TABLE 2
A.P. SI
PERCENTAGE OF INTERNALIZERS AND EXTERNALIZ-ERS
Group N Percent Pearson Correlation 1 -.116
Internalizer 43 47.8%
LOC AP Sig. (2-tailed) .275
Externalizer 47 52.2%
N 90 90
TABLE 3 Pearson Correlation -.116 1
BASIC DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF INTERNALIZERS' AND EXTER-
NALIZERS' SI
SI Sig. (2-tailed) .275

N 90 90

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According to the above table, no statistically significant Sig. (2-tailed) .008

rela-tionship was found between the participants' AP and SI
N 90
To answer the third question of the study concerning **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
the possible relationship between LOC and AP, a Pearson cor-
relation coefficient was used. Table 7 demonstrates the results.
Table 7 reveals that the correlation coefficient was signifi-
cant at p .01 and there was a significantly negative rela-
TABLE 7
tionship between the two variables (p = .008 .01, r = -.276).
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOC AND AP
Putting in other words, the more externalizer a participant is,
AP the higher she scores in the measure of academic procras-
Pearson Correlation 1 tination.
To answer the fourth question of the study dealing with the
AP Sig. (2-tailed) difference between internalizers and externalizers regarding
N 90 their SI, an independent samples t-test was run. Table 8
demonstrates whether the mean scores difference of the two
LOC Pearson Correlation -.276**
groups was significant or not.

TABLE 8
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTERNALIZERS AND EXTERNALIZERS IN TERMS OF SI
Levene's Test for
Equality of Vari- t-test for Equality of Means
ances
95% Confidence Interval
Sig. (2- Mean Dif- Std. Error
F Sig. t df of the Difference
tailed) ference Difference
Lower Upper
Equal vari-
ances as- 1.041 .310 2.297 88 .024 .235 .102 .031 .440
sumed
SI
Equal vari-
ances not 2.283 83.5 .025 .235 .103 .030 .441
assumed

The level of significance, as it is observable in Table 8, turned To answer the last research question regarding the differ-ence
out to be .024 that indicates a significant difference between between internalizers and externalizers in terms of their AP,
internalizers and externalizers in terms of their SI (t = 2.297, p = again an independent samples t-test was used. Table 9 shows
.024 .05). the results.

TABLE 9
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTERNALIZERS AND EXTERNALIZERS IN TERMS OF AP
Levene's Test for
Equality of Vari- t-test for Equality of Means
ances
95% Confidence Interval of
Sig. (2- Mean Dif- Std. Error
F Sig. t df the Difference
tailed) ference Difference
Lower Upper
Equal
variances 4.018 .048 -2.108 88 .038 -.166 .078 -.322 -.009
assumed
AP Equal
variances
-2.076 74.31 .041 -.166 .079 -.325 -.006
not as-
sumed

According to Table 9, there was a significant difference be-
tween the two groups of internalizers and externalizers in
terms of their academic procrastination (t= -
.05).
4 DISCUSSION
The present study aimed to investigate the relationship be-
295
tween SI, LOC, and AP. In relation to the first research ques-
tion, it was found that there was a significant positive rela-
tionship between the participants' SI and LOC. Interpreting
this finding from a commonsense perspective, those higher in
the SI, believe that the world is beyond material and eve-
rything is not limited to the physical world. They believe in
the existence of an Almighty capable of controlling every-
thing logically. They know that nothing happens reasonless to
Journal of Social Issues & Humanities, Volume 2, Issue 12, December 2014
ISSN 2345-2633
them and everything is a function of their own behavior. In
this way, they rate higher in the measure of LOC, too.
Focusing on the second research question, the findings re-
vealed no significant relationship between the students' SI and
AP. Reviewing Hassan (2009)'s assertion in the litera-ture sec-
tion, he claimed that students with high levels of SI are more
confident in taking an action and can create a good condition
that improves their achievement in education. So before be-
ginning the data collection procedure, it was antic-ipated that
those higher in the measure of SI are more likely to score low-
er in the AP scale. But results didn't reveal such a negative
relationship between the two variables.
With respect to the third research question, there existed a
significant negative relationship between LOC and AP. The
findings are in line with those of Hampton (2005) and Aka
(2012). This can be attributed to the fact that an individual
with an internal orientation who studies hard and does well
on a test would attribute the success to his/her own endeav-or
and continue to do his/her best on the forthcoming situa-
tions. But an externalizer may do well on a testing occasion
but attribute the success to factors such as luck, chance, or an
easy test. Therefore, the success would not act as a source of
motivation for him/her to take steps in future encoun-tered
academic tasks and tests (Heidari & Khorasaniha, 2013).
The results of the data analysis with regard to the fourth and
fifth questions demonstrated a significant difference between
internalizers and externalizers in terms of both their SI and
AP, respectively, which are in agreement with Ducette and
Wolk (1972, as cited in Ghonsooly & Elahi, 2010) who found
that externals showed less persistence than internals, and
Kernis (1984, as cited in Ghonsooly & Elahi, 2010) who found
that internalizers were more task-oriented than externalizers.
According to Weiner (1994), if students relate the academic
accomplishment to certain in-ternal factors, their sense of val-
ue will increase and this in turn will lead to more desirable
behavioral and functional outcomes such as decreased pro-
crastination. However, stu-dents who believe in the external
factors such as tasks' level of difficulty try to provide some
self-serving for themselves in case of failure. The logic for this
supportive self-service is the provision of a positive self-
concept for that person in spite of the failure. Procrastinating
and postponing the aca-demic assignments by these students
is a way to escape the failure and support the self-respect.
5 CONCLUSION
The results of the present investigation revealed a significant
pos-itive relationship between SI and LOC as well as a signifi-
cant negative relationship between LOC and AP. In other
words, in-ternalizers scored higher in the measure of SI and
lower in the AP scale. Regarding the relationship between SI
and AP, no signifi-cant relationship was observed. It was fur-
ther concluded that there was a significant difference between
internalizers and ex-ternalizers in terms of both SI and AP.
The conclusions derived from the present study can en-
courage all the influential characters in the educational system
specially educators to take advantage of the newfound rela-
296
tionships by providing the students with experiences which
enhance their SI. In doing so, there is opportunity to enhance
their LOC orientation as well. And trying to guide the stu-
dents towards the internal end of the LOC continuum increas-
es the possibility of taking part in the academic tasks and tests
more punctually on the part of the students. The findings will
also provide insights to administrators, course and syllabus
designers and developers to program their planning more
accurately and move toward a more efficient language learn-
ing syllabus which plays its own part in minimizing the stu-
dents' academic procrastination tendency. The findings are
expected to pinpoint effective paths in teaching and learning
as a whole.
The school curriculum continues to be squeezed as more
and more content is demanded by society. On the one hand, as
Villa, Walton, and Woodcock (2008, p. 156) have quoted
Gardner (1994)'s claim The enemy of understanding is cover-
age. In-stead of trying to cover from Plato to NATO,
schools should try to develop the modes of thinking that will
guide our children towards good lives. Schools play an im-
portant role in develop-ing these future citizens and one way
to do this is to acknowledge and nurture childrens spirituality
and spiritual intelligence. On the other hand, there's first a
necessity for teachers themselves as well as other influential
characters to be spiritually literate in or-der then to be able to
enhance it in the students. Fostering this kind of intelligence
can be done by directing attention to con-cepts like
knowledge of God, soul or inner being, self-awareness,
equality of color and gender, life and death aspects, etc. (Joy,
2011, p. ix). High spiritual intelligence makes students more
me-thodical in all aspects of their life, more used to rely on
them-selves, more ready to encounter the difficulties in life
and less worried (Zohar & Marshal, 2000).
Noel, Forsyth, and Kelley (1987) asserted that externals can
be taught to develop an internal LOC. As it is widely believed
that LOC enjoys a dynamic nature, EFL teachers should en-
courage the students to explore the causes of their success and
failure and associate them with factors that can be controlled,
rather than attributing them to uncontrollable ones like fate. In
other words, L2 teachers should orchestrate a move in their
students from external to internal LOC orientation, so that
they can take con-trol of their own learning and become au-
tonomous L2 learners (Ghonsooly & Elahi, 2011).
According to Neurolinguistic programming, the behavior
and strategies used by successful people can be duplicated be
less successful ones (Richards & Rogers, 2001). Hence, sugges-
tions and strategies employed by internalizers can be intro-
duced to externalizers. They can be encouraged to follow the
suggestions and strategies employed by internalizers.
Finally, it seems noteworthy that procrastination is a com-
plex pattern of recurring behaviours which includes emotions,
thought, and actions and has become habitual to the procrasti-
nator. Getting rid of it involves replacing, circumventing or
deac-tivating each of the habits by new ones. Approaching it
as a form of incompetence, the only way to eliminate it is to
replace it with competence. Personal competence is comprised
of five elements: emotional strength, well-directed thought,
Journal of Social Issues & Humanities, Volume 2, Issue 12, December 2014
ISSN 2345-2633
time management skills, control over habits, and task comple-
tion abilities (Wiki-books, 2006). Improving on these personal
competences is a safe way of overcoming procrastination.
The present study suffers from some limitations. First, the
par-ticipants were a convenience sample, so caution should be
exer-cised when interpreting the results. This study was also
limited by the relatively small sample. Other studies employ-
ing a larger number of participants can replicate the present
one and maxim-ize the generalizability in this way. Finally,
relying exclusively on self-report data like questionnaires has
been widely acknowl-edged as a limitation in the process of
data collection. In future studies, trying to accompany the pre-
sent instruments with other ones such as interviews aimed at
eliciting more detailed and in depth information might also
reveal new patterns.
Every research illuminates new directions for further in-
vestigations. Researchers interested in the concept of LOC can
extend this domain by examining the difference between in-
ternalizers' and externalizers' success in programs which re-
quire a certain amount of independence from teacher like dis-
tance learning, Computer Assisted Language Learning
(CALL), and Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL);
their attitude towards self vs. teacher error correction; the rela-
tionship between LOC and other variables like willing-ness to
communicate, resilience level, etc. Second, investigat-ing the
relationship between SI and four basic language skills; coping
strategies; social adaptability, etc. can prove beneficial. More-
over, switching on the L2 teachers' SI and examining the rela-
tionship between teachers' SI and their teaching style; their
burnout; the ways in which teachers' SI influence their learn-
ers' achievement can postulate facts which are still shaky. Fi-
nally, focusing on the relationship between academic procras-
tination and learning strategies, multiple intelligences, self-
esteem, self-efficacy, etc. can suggest areas of new studies.
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