This article documents the development of career counseling in Malaysia from 1957—when the British colonizers departed—to 2000. Although counseling, psychology, and psychiatry had their roots in mental health and medical environments, career counseling had its origins in the system of schooling and has now spread widely to business and industry. This article presents information on the historic and economic context of the development of career counseling, an exploration of the educational system from which career counseling was born, the cultural elements that have formed career counseling in the Malaysian context, and the application of M. Pope's (1995, 2000) stage development model to the development of career counseling in the Malaysian context.

The need for appropriate, timely, and increasingly comprehensive career development and education programs continues to escalate. It is interesting that despite the differences in cultures, religions, economies, political systems, and education structures, many countries face similar challenges when designing and implementing career development programs. Sharing and adapting career development interventions and techniques cross-culturally appear to be viable strategies for implementing or enhancing programs, provided the concepts and materials are tailored to the countries' unique requirements.Across the world, a large number of career development and education interventions have received wide recognition and been adapted for use by a number of countries. According to research and anecdotal data, many of the adaptation results have proven effective. Others, however, have fallen short of their intended outcomes, apparently because of a variety of factors; however, interest in adapting theories, programs, and materials for use beyond the environments for which they were designed remains high.Consequently, part of the symposium International Perspectives on Career Development was dedicated to understanding, on a deeper level, the factors that influence cross-cultural and cross-national intervention adaptations. Group 3, one of seven small groups charged with specific symposium tasks, explored issues around career development techniques and interventions. Encouraging input from international specialists in the field of career development, this cross-cultural, cross-national group focused on the following questions:• Can career intervention techniques be used cross-culturally?• What are the considerations in applying career intervention techniques cross-culturally? • What are the difficulties in adapting career intervention techniques for cross-cultural use?

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