Advancing a cross-cultural narrative approach to career counselling: The case of Vietnam

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to advance the concept of narrative approaches to career counselling from a cross-cultural perspective by investigating the case of Vietnam. It offers an account of the sociocultural context of Vietnam as it shifts from its traditional Confucian and communist values to a modern globally integrated market economy. Current approaches to career counselling in Vietnam for students in secondary and tertiary education are outdated and so fail to respond to the challenges that this shift is creating. It is argued that narrative career counselling has the potential to reconcile the tension between the need for flexibility and self-direction in work and career in a society that continues to be heavily influenced by Confucian ethics and collective notions of the self. The paper concludes with a call for future research on the practice of narrative career counselling cross-culturally to test its suitability.

Beyond Traditional Pathways: Innovations in Career Counseling for the 21st Century

“…The consideration of career counseling beyond cultural encapsulation has been highlighted, emphasizing the critical role of multicultural and cross-cultural issues in contemporary career counseling practices (Pope, 2003). The advancement of a cross-cultural narrative approach to career counseling has underscored the significance of understanding individuals' life experiences within social, cultural, economic, and political contexts, reflecting the integration of cultural competence in career interventions (Nguyen et al, 2018). Additionally, the understanding of the world of industry and business from the perspective of career guidance and counseling has emphasized the universal right of individuals to access career counseling services, regardless of gender, socioeconomic situation, sexual preference, age, or creed, reflecting the inclusive nature of cultural competence in career counseling (Korompot et al, 2022).…”

Advancing a critical social psychological perspective on women's leadership: A case illustration from the Global South

“…Chase (2005, p. 656) defined narrative as ‘a distinct form of discourse’ and ‘a way of understanding one's own and other's action, of organizing events and objects into a meaningful whole, of connecting and seeing the consequences of actions and events over time’. In relation to Vietnam, it is argued that a narrative approach has the potential to reconcile the country's competing values, as it straddles traditional/conservative Confucian ethics, collective notions of a socialist self, with more modern values and social norms based on individualism, flexibility and self‐direction in work, career and leadership (Nguyen et al, 2018). Narrative inquiry provides a basis to investigate human experience as a meaningful whole, rather than a set of isolated parts (variables) (Josselson & Hopkins, 2015), thereby enabling a deeper understanding of the nexus between gender, leadership and culture.…”

“…although she would prefer collaboration and dialogue with her followers, she feels certain situations require her to be authoritarian and undemocratic. In general, life for women in contemporary Vietnamese society often entails constant negotiation with a set of competing values (e.g., modern global, Confucian, socialist) (Hoang, 2020; Nguyen et al, 2018). To deal with this issue, Mai sought to establish a balance between working with her followers and learning to deal with the frustrations she experiences at not achieving the goals for the business:

I am rather decisive, and I know what I want for my organisation, but I find myself also having to be willing to bend myself, being adaptable, harmonised with others.

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Understanding the experiences of Vietnamese women leaders: Advancing an existential philosophical and psychological perspective.

“…4 Research on women’s leadership in Vietnam over the last decade has found that they must continue to negotiate with entrenched traditional Confucian hierarchies in the workplace (Dang, 2017; Mate et al, 2019), and nepotism that favor men, which is a hangover from the colonial and socialist era (Hoang, 2020; Marr, 1981; Truong, 2008). Vietnamese women find themselves having to negotiate with competing values and dilemmas as they attempt to balance modern global working conditions where career success requires self-awareness, self-direction, and self-determination, within the parameters of traditional cultural values that call for prioritizing family, community, and nation (Nguyen et al, 2018).…”