ABSTRACT
There are at least three reasons for studying guidance systems in other countries than one’s own. The first is that it demonstrates the cultural relativity of one’s own practices. By showing that things are done differently elsewhere, it causes one to question practices which otherwise tend to be taken for granted. The second is that it permits policy borrowing. While direct transplanting of practice from one country to another is problematic, new possibilities can be indicated which can be adapted to one’s own situation. The third is that it facilitates international co-operation. Within an increasingly global economy, the growing mobility of students, trainees and workers between countries means that guidance services need to work more closely together: understanding the similarities and differences between guidance systems can help to facilitate such co-operation and make it more effective.
