An investigation into the phenomena and practices of spiritual ...

listening to a group of people that I knew nothing about. I realized that my knowledge ofmy own cultural heritage was extremely limited and I wanted desperately to improve myown understanding as well as that of my professional colleagues. Not only was myknowledge of my cultural heritage limited, but medical personnel, doctors, nurses, andphysiotherapists also have limited knowledge of the cultural heritage of black and ethnicminority groups. Consequently the assessment and care that people from black and ethnicminority groups receive in the health and social care system is inadequate because of thelack of knowledge on both sides.My journey into this research has also been prompted by the rejection that I have had frommany people in terms of questioning my capability because of my cultural background. Iwas told by a senior lecturer, who was my mentor at the time, that I was writing WestIndian English. This was the first time that anyone suggested this to me during some thirtyyears of study, teaching and nursing in England. This really felt like an attack on my racialorigin.That discussion went further into a discussion of the political and social background whichsuggested that I was the victim (education product) of an era in Britain when teachingEnglish in schools was not given a high profile. It was suggested that the mass import oflabour from the Commonwealth countries, and the emphasis on “political incorrectness” ofold-fashioned grammar meant that teaching English in schools was „watered down‟ tomake it easier for the masses. This coupled with my nurse training where writing about thepatient and their care was more important than perfect English, meant that writing perfectEnglish was not a priority. In consequence, by the time I trained as a teacher a largenumber of students had completed basic formal education including university education11