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Poor mental health of university students is becoming a serious issue in many countries. Malaysia -- a leading country for Asia-Pacific education -- is one of them. Despite the government's effort to raise awareness, Malaysian students' mental health remains challenging, exacerbated by the students' negative attitudes towards mental health (mental health attitudes). Relatedly, self-compassion and resilience have been reported to improve mental health and mental health attitudes. Malaysian students (n = 153) responded to paper-based measures about mental health problems, negative mental health attitudes, self-compassion, and resilience. Scores were compared with 105 UK students, who also suffered from poor mental health and negative mental health attitudes, to make a cross-cultural comparison, to contextualise Malaysian students' mental health status, using t tests (aim 1). Correlation, path, and moderation analyses were conducted, to evaluate the relationships among these mental health constructs (aim 2). Malaysian students scored higher on mental health problems and negative mental health attitudes, and lower on self-compassion and resilience than UK students. Mental health problems were positively associated with negative mental health attitudes, and negatively associated with self-compassion and resilience. While self-compassion mediated the relationship between negative mental health attitudes and mental health problems (high self-compassion weakened the impacts of negative mental health attitudes on mental health problems), resilience did not moderate the same relationship (the level of resilience did not influence the impact of negative mental health attitudes on mental health problems). Self-compassion training was suggested to counter the challenging mental health in Malaysian university students.

A new qualification benchmark, the Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) Diploma Level 6 in Career Guidance and Development was established in the UK in 2011. This study was conducted to ascertain whether a theoretical nexus is necessary for practice and how this could contribute to the professionalisation of the adult careers sector in England. The study was undertaken with practitioners, all of whom had trained either through the work-based competency route or the academic route. Practitioners were asked to consider their theoretical modalities and how this influenced the embedding of theory within their professional practice. Analysis of survey and case study data revealed that degrees of exposure to theory during initial training affect capacities for theoretical integration during ongoing practice and development.

In this article we examine the development of career guidance in Pakistani higher education. The article is based on a literature review supplemented with new data gathered from a review of higher education institutions' websites and five case study interviews. It considers both local and global influences as relevant contexts for understanding how the development of career guidance in Pakistani higher education is taking place. Concerns about alignment between skills supply and demand provide key drivers both for the development of career guidance and for a wider higher education reform. The practice of career guidance in Pakistani higher education is shown to be lagging behind policy and will need to be strengthened by new policy, resources and indigenous theories.

Political impetuses for raising the professional status of the careers sector in England have spanned more than a decade, driving an assiduous pursuit for professionalisation linked to the training and upskilling of its workforce. This paper builds on previous work by the authors and explores the necessity, and integration of theory for practice through the delivery of a training programme for adult career advisers to meet the requirements of units from the Qualification Curriculum Framework (QCF) Diploma 6 in Career Guidance and Development. The findings indicate that successful careers pedagogy should accommodate trainers' reflexivity and their theoretical stance(s). The integration of theory and reflection offers a powerful lens through which practice can be developed, supporting career advisers and trainers to engage in reflexive and reflective learning. The paper offers an original insight into the pedagogic approaches utilised and their effectiveness from both career advisers and trainer's perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses various topics within the issue, including narrative therapy informed approach (NTIA) to career counselling, the dynamics of patriarchal power, and career development and wellbeing.

This paper explores the views of a group of career development practitioners undertaking a postgraduate qualification as a form of continuing professional development (CPD). It offers insights into how these practitioners perceive and view different forms of CPD. A case study methodology was adopted to gather examples of the CPD activities practitioners engaged in and the value placed on these in supporting the development of professional practice. Their views were synthesised to create a typology representing a differentiated model of CPD. The model proposes three types of CPD: operational, experiential and formal. Formal CPD is perceived as having the highest value in developing professional practice. The study supports a deeper understanding of how careers practitioners engage with and understand CPD.

This article explores the issue of quality in online career mentoring. It builds on a previous evaluation of Brightside, an online mentoring system in the UK which is primarily aimed at supporting young people's transitions to further learning. The article notes that participants in Brightside's mentoring programmes reported satisfaction with their experiences, with many stating that it helped them to make decisions and to positively change their learning and career behaviours. However, the article argues that there are challenges in ensuring quality and consistency connected to both the voluntary nature of mentoring and the online mode. The article proposes a 10-point quality framework to support quality assurance, initial training and professional development for online mentors.

Careers advisers in the UK have experienced significant change and upheaval within their professional practice. This research explores the role of postgraduate-level professional development in contributing to professional identity. The research utilises a case study approach and adopts multiple tools to provide an in-depth examination of practitioners' perceptions of themselves as professionals within their lived world experience. It presents a group of practitioners struggling to define themselves as professionals due to changing occupational nomenclature resulting from shifting government policy. Postgraduate professional development generated a perceived enhancement in professional identity through exposure to theory, policy and opportunities for reflection, thus contributing to more confident and empowered practitioners. Engagement with study facilitated development of confident, empowered practitioners with a strengthened sense of professional self.

This article examines the Blueprint framework for career management skills as it has been revealed across sequential implementations in the USA, Canada and Australia. It is argued that despite its lack of an empirical basis, the framework forms a useful and innovative means through which career theory, practice and policy can be connected. The framework comprises both core elements (learning areas, learning model and levels) and contextual elements (resources, community of practice, service delivery approach and policy connection). Each of these elements is explored. (Contains 1 table.)

Although students in education have high rates of mental health problems, many of them do not ask for help, which can exacerbate their symptoms. One reason for their low help-seeking is shame associated with mental health problems. As education students aspire to provide care for children, they may feel ashamed to care for themselves, as the role identity theory suggests. Self-compassion is reported to reduce shame and mental health problems. This study explored the relationships between mental health problems, mental health shame, self-compassion, and caregiver identity among UK education students. One hundred and nine postgraduate students completed four self-report scales regarding those constructs. Correlation and regression analyses were performed. Mental health problems were positively associated with shame and identity, and negatively associated with self-compassion. Self-compassion was the only significant predictor of mental health problems. Findings will help educators and education students to develop effective approaches for their mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]