Group Counseling Using Symbolic Modeling Techniques to Enhance Students’ Self-Efficacy in Continuing Their Education

Low self-efficacy in continuing education to higher education requires appropriate guidance and counseling services. This study examined the effectiveness of group guidance using the symbolic modeling technique in improving students' self-efficacy in continuing education. A quantitative quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design was used. The sample consisted of 24 twelfth-grade students of SMA Negeri 2 Sutera Padang, Indonesia, prioritizing those with low self-efficacy, selected through purposive sampling and divided into experimental (n = 12) and control (n = 12) groups. Data were collected with a Likert-scale self-efficacy questionnaire and analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test, Mann-Whitney U test, and N-Gain with SPSS 25.0. The experimental group's average score increased from 93.8 (moderate) to 133 (very high) with Asymp. Sig. 0.002, while the control group increased from 95.3 to 106 with Asymp. Sig. 0.003. The Mann-Whitney U test showed a significant posttest difference between groups (Asymp. Sig. 0.002), with an average N-Gain of 70% (moderately effective) for the experimental group, far higher than the control group's 13% (ineffective). Group guidance using the symbolic modeling technique is effective in improving students' self-efficacy in continuing education. The findings imply that vicarious experience through symbolic media can strengthen students' confidence in planning further education. Guidance and counseling teachers are advised to apply this technique in a programmed manner, particularly for students with low self-efficacy, and schools are encouraged to include it in guidance programs for final-year students.