Caeers across cultures

Abstract

The study of career management has long recognized the existence of international differences in career patterns and practice (Osipow, 1983) and also the need to culturally adapt career counseling practice (Sue & Sue, 1990). However, the systematic study of careers from a cross-cultural or comparative perspective is still in its infancy. The literature in this area is fragmented and lacks a coherent framework to guide inquiry. We suggest that it is possible and desirable to examine cultural differences in careers by considering both the ways in which culture legitimizes career patterns and practices through the institutions of society and how it determines the culturally based attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and expectations that individuals have about careers.