ABSTRACT

The Analysis of Counselling in Context: A Qualitative Case Study in a Malaysian Educational Setting

Prof. Dato' Dr. Mohd. Manso Abdullah, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd. Tajudin Haji Ninggal, Dr. Sharif Mustaffa

This study examined the everyday experiences of Malay school counsellors as they encounter and negotiate major contextual factors in their practice in Malaysian Secondary schools. Specifically, the study examined how Malay school counselors adapt their generic, Western-oriented training models and practices to the needs of everyday practice in Malaysian Society. In particular, the researchers investigated the influence of 6 factors: multi-ethnicity of students, diversity of religion, relationships with teachers, collaboration with parents, the counsellors workload and the physical environment of the counselling center in relation to the counsellors' counselling practice. The tern 'counselling in context' was used to refer to the everyday practice of counselling in relation to the 6 identified factors.

The impetus for the research came from several areas. There are substantial literature discussing the problems and issues of using Western-oriented counselling models in non-Western-oriented cultures such as Malaysia. The general question addressed was whether counsellors trained in Western Models could actually use these approaches in practice, or whether they ought to be adapted in major ways to fit the cultural context. A major difficulty was that much of the literature appeared to be general, theoretical or ideological, rather than based on the actual experiences of practicing counsellors in the countries concerned. The lack of specific data on Malaysian school counsellors, especially the Malays was the starting point for the study.

A qualitative study approach was used in order to focus on the experience of Malay counsellors. The researchers examined the practice of 11 Malay school counsellors in the district of Maur, using a combination of interviews, observations and document analysis. the data suggested that counsellors actively adapt thier training models in various ways in relation to the 6 factors studied. Interestingly, counsellors perceived a considerable gap bwtween their university training course and the knowledge and skills required for actual practice. They have had to initiate their own learning in order and adapting to multi-dimensional perspectives in counselling to respond to clients' everyday needs.

Asian Psychological Services and Assessment (APSA)

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