The Enneagram intelligences: Understanding personality for effective teaching and learning.

Levine, J. (1999). The Enneagram intelligences: Understanding personality for effective teaching and learning. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey (320 pp., $24.95, cloth, ISBN-0-89789-562-2; $59.95 hardcover, ISBN-0-89789-561-4).

The purpose of this book is to describe the nine personality worldviews of the Enneagram model and demonstrate the model's usefulness in the classroom as a new paradigm of nine "intelligences." For those not familiar with this personality system, the Enneagram is a model of nine patterns of thought, each a distinctive way of viewing the world. The origin of the Enneagram is attributed to ancient Sufi teachings that describe nine points or personality types and the relationships among them (Palmer, 1991). According to the model, each person has one distinctive Enneatype, although a second Enneatype or "wing" can temper the manner in which the primary Enneatype is expressed. For example, an Enneatype One or "Perfectionist," may have her type modified by a Two-wing or a Nine-wing. A perfectionist with a Two-wing will perceive the world differently than a perfectionist with a Nine-wing.

The book is generally clearly written and logically organized. The first two chapters give a brief background of the Enneagram system, including an inventory, the Enneagram Triads Personality Indicator for Educators, that purports to assist readers in establishing their own Enneatypes. Chapter three provides detailed descriptions of each of the nine Enneatypes and encompasses most of the book. The remaining three chapters are each quite short. Chapter four gives directions for preparing for the Enneagram mindset, while chapter five relates the model to the Myers-Briggs typology. The concluding chapter offers the Enneagram as a new paradigm for education in the 21st century.

Having some familiarity with the Enneagram, I believe the author has represented the Enneatypes accurately, although different authors refer to the nine types by different names. For example, Enneatype Four is called "The Royal Family" in this book, but in others it has been called, "The Artist," (Riso, 1990) or "The Tragic Romantic" (Palmer 1991). The descriptions of each type, however, are consistent. Chapters one and three are excellent sources for information on the background and description of the model and the nine types, making the book a good resource for someone who wishes to learn about this personality system.

Chapter two is rather weak since the author provides no reliability or validity data concerning the inventory presented. The author's evidence in this realm is anecdotal from first hand experiences in her workshops and classroom interactions. Although the main purpose of the book is to provide a new lens for identifying the multiple intelligences within each of us using the nine Enneatypes as "intelligences," the author does not make the case that the Enneagram types are intelligences. Levine uses the phrases "nine strategies," "nine intelligences," and "nine personality types" interchangeably.

The last chapter describing the Enneagram for classrooms of the 21st century lacks substance and does not provide the details a teacher would need to actively use the Enneagram model in the classroom. Lesson plans, activities, and other examples of the Enneagram in use would be helpful.

Overall, the strength of this book is the level of detail provided in the descriptions of each Enneagram personality type and is worth reading to gain a deeper understanding of this model.

REFERENCES

Palmer, H. (1991). The Enneagram: Understanding yourself and the others in your life. New York: HarperCollins.

Riso, D, R. (1990). Understanding the Enneagram: The practical guide to personality types. Boston: Houghton Mifflin 

Reviewed by Cheryll M. Adams, Director of the Center for Gifted Studies and Talent Development at Ball State University and a member of the Board of Directors of NAGC and the Indiana Association for the Gifted and Contributing Editor of the Roeper Review.