Schmidt, Patricia Ruggiano & Finkbeiner, Claudia, Editors (2006). ABC’s of Cultural Understanding and Communication: National and International Adaptations. Greenwich, Connecticut: Information Age Publishing.

Pages: 283     Price: $39.99     ISBN: 978-1-59311-463-3

Patricia Ruggiano Schmidt and Claudia Finkbeiner collaborate in this text to compile descriptions of a number of variations of the ABC's model which have been successfully implemented in the United States and Europe. The editors begin by defining Schmidt's ABC’s model and explanations of Finkbeiner and colleagues' adaptation of this model in Europe. Schmidt's model includes "(a) autobiography, (b) biography, (c) cross-cultural analysis (d) cultural self-analysis of differences, and (e) communication plans for connecting home, school and community for literacy learning" (p.1). Finkbeiner and her colleagues modified the model based on Europe's sociocultural differences: geographically and economically linked countries with different linguistic and cultural realities. This introductory chapter also provides a solid theoretical foundation for the ABC's model.

With an understanding of the ABC's model presented in the introductory chapter, readers will find subsequent chapters useful for teachers, teacher educators and teacher training programs in the United States and Europe. Since many of the contributors are from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds themselves, their varied viewpoints and experiences add to the reader's understanding of the importance of cultural communication in the educational setting. The contributors range from teachers themselves to teacher trainers to researchers and each shows the value of the ABC's model, or an adaptation, in multiple settings.

"Know thyself, understand others" is the key principle to the ABC's model and each chapter illustrates this concept in one way or another. Osetek's chapter poignantly describes her own journey through the ABC's model in a TESOL certification program. Other chapters show the use of the ABC's model in pre-service teacher education and in in-service-programs to raise awareness of cultural literacy and competency for teachers in the field. Higgins' chapter shows the use of the ABC's model in business education, proving its adaptability across the curriculum. Two chapters explore the potential for intercultural communication using on-line opportunities. Finally, the last chapter both acknowledges the challenges inherent in implementing the ABC's model while it also recognizes its flexibility and its potential use in other areas. "Development of self-knowledge, learning more about one another, and exercising flexible thinking should hardly be limited to academic settings" (p.270). This highly readable and engaging text is a must for those who teach or work in the increasingly multicultural environment of the 21st century.

Reviewed by Pat Mytkowicz, Ed.D, an associate professor and coordinator of a program for multilingual students with learning disabilities at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts