Chinese people with learning difficulties: Towards an understanding


In writing the stories of integrated and Chinese specific social care services in England, and that of Chinese people with learning difficulties who use such services, I have been able to explore the implications for them (and myself) when crossing cultural boundaries. 

Observing in a Temple, China. 
The way I did this was by doing ethnographic research which gave me an opportunity to gain an understanding of observed social actions based on my reflexive experiences.  Ethnography is a word applied to both observing and producing thick written description of social actions within context of a given social group (Creswell, 1998; Marshall, 1998).  Ethnography then is '…grounded in a commitment to the first-hand experience and exploration of a particular social or cultural setting on the basis of (but not entirely by) participant observation' (Atkinson, 2001, p.4).  

This means that in gaining deep understandings of what I observe, an immersion of myself for long periods of time through participant observations provided a better understanding of social actions by observing what happened, listening to what was said and by asking questions.  Through keeping a detailed written journal of what I observe, experience and of my reflective thoughts, I have been able to provide interesting and detailed accounts of what happens when we cross cultural boundaries.  



1 comment:

  1. Martin, a really impressive start in presenting your research to the wider blogosphere. I like the template, its really crisp and clean and visually attractive. Now you need to have a regular post at least once a week. Start one of your stories. The activities you include are spot on for promoting yourself and business. Have a great Christmas and New Year!

    ReplyDelete