International Journal of Education, Vol. 7 No. 2 May 2014

PEER COUNSELING MODEL FOR IMPROVING
STUDENTS’ SELF-DIRECTION COMPETENCE

Erhamwilda
Email: erham_wilda@yahoo.co.id

Bandung Islamic University

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of the peer counseling model for improving
students’ self-direction competence. The research aimed to describe, test and analyze the
effectiveness of the peer counseling model and employed the descriptive-analytical method
and quasi-experiments to do this. The research activities consisted of a series of model validity
tests, namely the model rationality test, the model practicability test, and the limited test. The
data collection techniques were interviews, self-direction competence inventories, observation
and documentation. The results of the research demonstrate that the peer counseling model as
an intervention program for the experimental group as a whole proved to effectively improve
students’ self-direction competence. The peer counseling model has its strengths in self-
confidence, self-reliance, and self-control.
Keywords: effectiveness, peer-counseling model, students’s self-direction.

%) were to do with time management. Personal
problems commonly expressed by students
were low self confi dence which was identifi ed
with a lack of confi dence in expressing their
opinions (48.2 %), feeling ashamed when
speaking in public (58.27 %), a supposed lack
of appeal (17.26 %), lack of confi dence to mix
with others (15.11 %), feeling better when
being ‘stand-offi sh’, and being pessimistic
about their future (11.51 %). In addition to
this, more than half of the students (61.87 %)
stated that they had friends who displayed
bad behavior (breaking religious and social
norms) (Erhamwilda, 2011).

In order to anticipate and overcome their
problems, students need help to build their
inner strengths that may lead to them having
appropriate attitudes and behavior from which
they may benefi t and profi t from in the future.
According to Cavanagh (1982), one of the most
important human strengths is psychological
strength. Psychological strength covers three
dimensions, namely fulfi llment of needs,
intrapersonal competence, and interpersonal
competence.

Introduction
Various studies in Indonesia have

showed the complexity of behavioral problems
faced by adolescents. There are six types
of adolescence delinquency, which tend to
increase, namely alcohol, free sex, pregnancy,
violence, and drug addiction (Nurhayati,
1998; Yusuf, 2005; Pikiran Rakyat, December
21st 2008). Adolescent delinquencies do not
only occur outside but also inside schools,
especially at Junior High Schools and Senior
High Schools.

Being delinquents, high school students
are susceptible to problems because they are
experiencing a crisis in trying to fi nd their
identities. Biologically, adolescents are at
the peak of their growth periods, and are also
preparing to become adults. Adolescents are
also vulnerable to problems because they
keep facing socio-cultural and environmental
changes.

In a preliminary study of 139 students of
a vocational school in Bandung it was found
that all had problems, and in terms of quantity,
the problems revealed by most students (85.61

Erhamwilda, Peer Counseling Model For Improving Students’ Self-Direction Competence

Intrapersonal competence is the
dimension of psychological strength that
occupies a strategic position in the fulfi llment
of personal needs and improvement of
interpersonal competence (Erhamwilda,
2011).

Self-direction is one of the important
intrapersonal competences of an individual
when he/she is making a decision to determine
his/her attitude or behavior, because most
individual problems may stem from inaccuracy
when making a decision. Adolescence is a
very important period for making decisions
concerning personal life, social matters, and
career choice. An appropriate decision made
during adolescence can bear an impact on life
satisfaction and success in adulthood.

Self-direction is the ability of individuals
to direct their lives and be fully responsible
for the consequences of their behavior. The
more capable one is of directing one’s r own
behavior, the more onee lives according
to nature, and avoids situations that would
change one’s nature (Michael E. Cavanagh,
1982).

“Your ambition is an expression of
who you are, and your self-expression. Self-
expression is really self-direction; you think,
move, and motivate yourself. Ambition
is a result of self-direction. Positive self-
direction says, ‘I know who I am, and where
I want to go’. I’m accumulating knowledge,
experiences, feelings, and life philosophies
and preparing for future opportunities...”
(Rohn, 2011:1)

Problems with self-direction may
manifest in one or more of the following
aspects: (1) lack of self-confi dence, (2)
lack of self-reliance, and/or (3) lack of self-
control (Cavanagh, 1982). Counseling can
be conducted for improving self-direction
competence.

The preliminary results of the survey
on the implementation of counseling at fi ve
Senior High Schools (SMAs) and Vocational
High Schools (SMKs) in Bandung, Indonesia,
show the minimum amount of counseling

services. The results of a random survey
of 100 SMA students on the type of people
chosen for consultation showed that 78%
of the students tended to consult with their
classmates, friends from outside school or
close friends, 19% tended to consult with
their parents, and 3% tended to consult with
their teachers with whom they had close
relationships, while none of them consulted
with the school counselors or their homeroom
teachers (Erhamwilda, 2011).

The next survey conducted on 30
Vocational School (SMK) students showed
that 70% of the students claimed that
whenever they had problems, they tended to
consult with their schoolmates, friends from
outside school, or close friends, while 26.7%
tended to consult with their parents, and only
3.33% consulted with the school counselors
(Erhamwilda, 2011).

For many adolescents, how they look
among their peers is the most important thing
in their lives, and one of the most important
functions of their peers is becoming their
source of information about the world outside
their family (Santrock, 2007: 311). The
activities of helping and supporting each other
when facing problems of life and/or when
developing their own potentials is referred to
as peer counseling (Suwarjo, 2008: 8).

According to the issues under research
above, the research question is formulated into
“How does the result of the peer counseling
model effectively improve students’ self-
direction competence at one of the Vocational
High Schools (SMK) in Bandung? This
main issue is expanded into the following
questions: (1) How is the profi le of students’
self-direction competence at one SMK in
Bandung?; (2) What is the possibility of
doing the peer counseling at one of SMK in
Bandung? (3) What is the best model of peer
counseling for improving the self-direction of
students at one SMK in Bandung? (4) Is the
peer-counseling model produced effective in
improving students’self-direction competence
in one SMK in Bandung?

International Journal of Education, Vol. 7 No. 2 May 2014

Literature Review
Self-direction is an individual’s

competence to direct his/her life and accept
full responsibility for the consequences of
their behavior. The more people direct their
own behavior, the more they live according
to their nature, and the better they develop a
repertoire of behaviors that will be consistent
with self-direction. Three important such
behaviors are self-confi dence, self-reliance,
and self-control. (Cavanagh, 1982, Cavanagh
& Levitov, 2002: 207).

Self-confi dence is extremely important
in almost every aspect of our lives, yet so
many people struggle to fi nd it. Sadly, this
can be a vicious cycle: People who lack self-
confi dence can fi nd it diffi cult to become
successful. “Your level of self-confi dence can
show in many ways: your behavior, your body
language, how you speak, what you say, and
so on” (Manktelow & Carlson, 2009).

In general, self-confi dence may be
infl uenced by: (1) internal factors, namely self-
concept (Centi, 1995), self-esteem (Meadow in
Kusuma, 2005), physical condition (Anthony,
1992), and life experience (Lauster, 1997),
(2) external factors, including educational
experience, work, environment, and life.

Self-reliance is an important part of
self-direction, because the more people can
create a situation that would meet their needs,
the more able they are to direct their own
behavior. In other words, the more one leans
on others to achieve things, the more likely
someone else will direct one’s life (Cavanagh,
1982). The fi rst philosophy of self-reliance
was stated by Emerson as part of his speech
in September 1830. Emerson’s essay uttered
sincerity to individualism (Gallozzi, Chuck,
2009).

Emerson said that there were two
factors causing people to disbelieve their
own competence, namely social refusal and
consistency of foolishness (Gallozzi, Chuck,
2009).

Someone who lacks self-reliance may
be suffering from one or more problems,

such as (a) self-hate because of an inability to
meet one’s needs, (b) self-blame or projecting
self-hatred on others, (c) fi nd it diffi cult to
fulfi ll tasks because one is always positioned
as an observer, (d) interpersonal problems
(Cavanagh & Levitov, 2002).

Improvement of self-direction
competence for students may be carried
out through individual counseling or group
counseling organized by school counselors.
People seeking counseling may often
have learned not to trust their competence,
perception, motives, and judgment (Cavanagh,
1982).

Tindall and Gray (1985) developed
peer counseling. The peer counseling they
proposed explained the purpose of peer
counseling, the change of counselor’s roles,
trainers’ requirements, the planning of peer
counseling, and the peer counselor training
procedures. Their model provided inspiration
for developing peer counseling suitable for
the conditions of Indonesian students.

“Proactive adult educators and on-site
human resource developers can facilitate
improvements in students’ self-direction
by implementing peer-mentoring programs
and by building counseling coursework into
professional adult education …” (Vann, 1966).

Ideally, expert counselors should
provide counseling services, however, with
certain prerequisites an expert counselor may
train students to become “peer counselors”,
and conduct “peer counseling”. In the ACA
Code of Conduct (2005) it is determined that
“Support network involvement counselors
recognize that support, understanding, and
involvement of others (e.g., religious/spiritual/
community leaders, family members, and
friends) can be positive resources, when
appropriate, with client consent”. Carr
(1981) stated that without the active help of
the students (peers) in solving the crisis of
development and psychological problems of
their own, service programs and counseling
programs would not work effectively. The
counselor must engage students (peers) as

Erhamwilda, Peer Counseling Model For Improving Students’ Self-Direction Competence

allies and conduct cooperative efforts to help
them through the various rational and logical
actions.

Bowman and Myrick (1980 in Tindall &
Gray, 1985) pointed out that counseling could
improve positive self-concept on students
of Grades 3 and 4 of Elementary Schools.
Emmert (1977 in Tindall & Gray, 1985)
found that a group of students who had been
trained to become peer counselors statistically
showed a higher empathy score relative to
those who had not had training. Bell (1977
in Tindall & Gray, 1985) found that trained
peer counselors did not show improvement
in self-concept, yet they were capable of
gaining higher academic achievement relative
to peer counselors who did not work with
other students. Miller (in Fritz, 1999: 516)
reported that clients who used peer counseling
were capable of identifying themselves with
their peers, and clients assumed that “peer
counselors” possessed willingness to develop
communication bridges.

According to Fritz (1999, 522), the
presence of peer counselors was not meant
as a substitute for professional counselors,
but simply to help improve their services.
“Peer culture contains the informal social
mechanisms through which children create
their social order, determine their place and
identity, and develop positive and negative
feelings about themselves” (P.A Adler; P
Adler, 1998).

During the last seven years, peer
mentors have reduced the drop out rate of
16- and 17-year-olds from 75% to 80% within
the fi rst 40 days on the St. Louis Job Corps
campus. From August to November 2008 the
peer-mentors reached out to 2,212 students.
Students being sent home from residential
halls for fi ghting and confl ict dropped 30%
within the fi rst year of utilizing peer mediators
in the residence halls. Students serving as peer
mentors (approx. 560 within the fi rst 7 years
have all completed the program except one
(Tindall, Judith A: Chatman, Herbert; Foster,
Robin, 2010, 18).

The purpose of this research is to
design an effective peer counseling model
for improving students’ self-direction
competence at one SMK in Bandung. The
aims of the research are elaborated as follows:
(1) to fi nd the profi le of students’ self-direction
competence; (2) to fi nd the possibility of
conducting peer counseling; (3) to formulate a
peer counseling model for improving students’
self-direction competence; (4) to prove the
effectiveness of the produced peer counseling
model in improving self-direction.

Method
The sample comprised 501 Grade XI

students from one SMK in Bandung. They
came from four vocational fi eld of study:
Accountancy (AK), Offi ce Administration
(AP), Marketing (PS), and Tourism (UPW).
The sample was selected from the four
vocational programs, which comprised of
eight classes, four of which were used as
experiment groups, and the other four as
control groups. The group members of each
class were selected based on the results of
self-direction assessment (which consisted
of high, medium, and low self-direction);
as a result, there were 40 students acting
as samples (20 students belonged to the
experiment group, and another 20 students
belonged to the control group). The students
to be trained as peer counselors were selected
from the experimental group based on the
following criteria: (a) being popular among
their peers for consultation, (b) being willing
to help others, being patient and capable
of controlling their emotions, (c) having a
high or close to high score for self-direction
competence, and (d) willing to be trained as
peer counselors.

The qualitative research in the
preliminary study was carried out to determine
the empirical condition of counseling services
and system support for developing the peer
counseling. Then, the qualitative research
was conducted to validate the peer counseling
program for the experts and practitioners.

International Journal of Education, Vol. 7 No. 2 May 2014

At the end of the study, further qualitative
research was conducted to collect information
concerning the students’ experiences after
they underwent the peer counseling process. A
quantitative study was then conducted to test
the validity of the self-direction instruments
and the statistical effectiveness of peer
counseling to improve students’ self-direction
competence.

The quasi-experiment method with
pretest-posttest design (Heppner at al.
2008: 183) was conducted using the fi eld
test hypothetical model. The criteria for the
effectiveness of the peer counseling model,
its practical signifi cance and statistical
signifi cance are as follows:

Model Development
The peer-counseling model was

developed based on relevant literature and
empirical studies, which was carried out
in a Vocational School in Bandung. The
data collected for the study covered: (1)
problems faced by students, (2) students’
need for consultation, (3) students’ inclination
towards peer counseling, (4) students
preparedness to be trained as peer counselors,
(5) social relationships with classmates, (6)
characteristics of students’ personality, (7)
students’ average academic achievement, (8)
profi le of students’ self-direction competence,
and (9) support systems for implementing
peer counseling.

Validation of the hypothetical model
The rational validation of the model

was conducted using detailed response
techniques and qualitative assessment. The
peer counseling model was validated by four
Guidance and Counseling experts and four
school practitioners.

Revision of the model
Based on the inputs of the experts and

school practitioners, the peer counseling
model for improving self-direction
competence was revised and amended. In this

way, the model and guide were operational.
The model of peer counseling for improving
students’ self-direction competences consisted
of: (1) rationales, (2) objectives, (3) targets,
(4) assumptions, (5) targets of intervention,
(6) stages of model implementation, (7)
competence of expert counselors, (8)
competence of peer counselors, (9) evaluation
of the counseling success.

Trial of peer counseling effectiveness
The threat of internal validity was

anticipated with the presence of a control
group. In the trial of model effectiveness, an
hypothesis test was conducted.

The research hypothesis is: peer
counseling is effective for improving the
Vocational School (SMK) students’ self-
direction competence, while the statistical
hypothesis is:

Ho: m experiment = m control &
H1 : m experiment > m control
HO: m control = m experiment, means that there

is no signifi cant difference of the average
improvement between the experiment group
and the control group. H1: m control > m experiment
means that there is signifi cant difference of the
average improvement between the experiment
group and the control group.

Instruments
The instruments for data collection

consisted of: instruments for identifying
students’ problems, interviews, questionnaires,
sociometry, and a self-direction inventory.

The self-direction inventory was
especially made for assessing the students’
self-direction competence, refering to self-
direction concepts proposed by Cavanagh
(1982 & 2002) and was supplemented with
other relevant theories.

The instruments were in the form of
inventories with four options, namely highly
agree, agree, disagree, and highly disagree. In
order to produce valid instruments, a number
of tests were conducted: (1) worthiness test
according to guidance and counseling experts,

Erhamwilda, Peer Counseling Model For Improving Students’ Self-Direction Competence

(2) trial in the fi eld, and (3) validity and
reliability test. Validity test was carried out
by means of the correlation technique of item-
total product moment. The validity test of
each item was carried out using the Ms Excel
2007. The reliability test of the instruments
was carried out by Ms Excel 2007 software
using the statistical formula of Cranbach’s
Alpha (a).

Statistical Signifi cance
1. The research results should show normality

and homogeneity with Z Kolmogrov-
Smirnov (p>0,05) variants (p>0,05) before
statistic test to test the mean and N-gain
and two-mean differential test are done.

2. The main N-gain of pretest and posttest of
the experimental group should be higher
than those of the control group.

3. The improvement of the result of
differential test should show that the scores
of pretest and posttest of the experimental
group are higher than those of the control
group, as proven by tcal>ttab or seen from
the value of p<0,05.

Result and Discussion
The profi le of self-direction competence

of students is shown in Table 1:

Table 1
Self Direction Profi le of SMK’s Student

Aspect Criteria Interval Freq. Precent.

Self-
Confi -
dence

High 31 - 45 126 25.15

Medium 16 - 30 375 74.85

Low 0 - 15 0 0.00

Self-
reliance

High 31 - 45 111 22.16

Medium 16 - 30 390 77.84

Low 0 - 15 0 0.00

Self-
Control

High 43 - 63 46 9.18

Medium 22 - 42 453 90.42

Low 0 - 21 2 0.40
Source: Erhamwilda, 2011

Based on the Table above most students’
self-direction competence is considered

medium level. 18.16% rated high level,
81.84% medium and none rated low level.

The possibility of conducting peer
counseling at one SMK in Bandung.

Based on interviews with one SMK’s
School Counselor Coordinator, it is known
that the guidance and counseling service has
not been conducted well and they do not
have comprehensive data about the students’
problems. The services are mostly delivered
classically, while individual counseling and
group counseling have not been held according
to standard.

The School Counselor Coordinator
welcomed the peer counseling program
offered. According to the Coordinator, the
students like to be helped by their friends, and
there was evidence that before the National
Exam in 2009/2010 in maths, peer tutoring
was successful. For this reason, they showed
enthusiasm to try the peer counseling model.

To gauge the popularity of peer
counseling among students a survey was
conducted. It showed 72.8% of students prefer
consulting their friends about their problems,
while no students preferred consulting
counselors. The remainder preferred
consulting their family (18.2%).

Most of the students agreed that if here
were trained friends at their school to share their
problems, they would consult them. The survey
showed that most of the students felt they need
help from others to solve their problems.

The stages of trialing the effectiveness of
peer counseling are as follows:
1. Socialization of the Implementation

Plan of the program. This was discussed
with the School Principal, Vice Principal
for Students Affairs, while a more
comprehensive socialization was carried
out with the Guidance and Counseling
Coordinator and School Counselors.

2. Selection of “Peer Counselor” Candidates:
based on a number of set of criteria, in
this research there were six students

International Journal of Education, Vol. 7 No. 2 May 2014

representing the experiment group selected
and confi rmed as peer counselors.

3. Training of Peer Counselor Candidates.
The main objective of the peer counselor
training was to enable the peer counselor
candidates to master the basic skills to
effectively communicate in counseling,
inform them about self-direction
competence and how to improve it
through counseling. The counseling may
be carried out in the form of individual or
group sessions. In order for the trainees
to master all the skills associated with
peer counseling, a number of training
materials were prepared and designed.
The training materials consisted of two
main parts, Part I, which contained peer
counseling communication skills, and
Part II, which contained the improvement
of self-direction competence. In the
training, materials dealing with counseling
communication skills were not clearly
separated from the materials dealing with
improvement of self-direction competence
as both areas were practiced together.

The trainer of the peer counselors in
this quasi-experiment was the researcher
herself, who also involved a Guidance
and Counseling teacher. After the students
were trained, they felt that they could
understand themselves better and felt more
confi dent. The success of the training was
evaluated qualitatively about interviews
about the training materials.

The students’ level of cognitive
mastery of the counseling communication
skills were good, however, regarding
the practice of conducting counseling
communication, their levels of competence
varied. Throughout the training process,
the researcher assisted the trainees to
solve every problem they encountered
when practicing peer counseling. At the
end of the training, four out of six trainees
showed good competence in counseling
communication and in providing help for
their counselees when exploring problems.

After going through all the processes,
the peer counselor candidates claimed
that they were ready for conducting peer
counseling, and promised to learn more
about peer counseling by practice. They
would consult the researcher whenever
they had problems.

Subsequently, the peer counselors were
free to choose their own counselees from
among their classmates. In this regard,
the researcher gave them a list of names
of students who should be given priority
when they practice peer counseling (this
list was produced using the database on
the students’ self-direction competence
score).

4. The Execution of Peer Counseling
The counseling may be carried out

individually or in groups depending
on the counselors’ own competence,
opportunities, and interests. The choice
of time and place for peer counseling was
based on the agreement made with the
counselees. In essence, peer counseling
was spontaneous and informal. It was
spontaneous because it may happen at
any time and anywhere. It was informal
because counseling communication
occurred among peers and was built
upon equality, and the position of the
peer counselors was not higher than their
counselees. Therefore, the procedures
should not be rigid.

In peer counseling the main objective
of the counseling communication was
the happiness of the counselees. The
counselees were helped to understand
themselves and their internal confl icts,
enabled to see their problems from
various sides, assisted to see the various
alternatives for solving problems, assisted
in making decisions and to determine their
attitude or decide what to do for their own
benefi t in the future. The other principle
was that peer counselors should appreciate,
honor, and respect their counselees as
individuals. Peer counselors were aware

Erhamwilda, Peer Counseling Model For Improving Students’ Self-Direction Competence

of the principle in which counselees
were individuals who had potential and
strength to become self-confi dent, capable
of controlling themselves, and capable of
fulfi lling their own needs independently.

The peer counselors were to practice
peer-counseling activities in a month.

In the trial process, counselors helped
their peers solving their problems, namely:
(1) Internal family problems, including: (a)

feeling stressed by parents who are not
harmonious, (b) feeling that their parents
do not care for them, (c) economic
problems, (d) feeling that their parents
are too demanding and restrictive, (e)
problems with other members of the family
due to trivial things, (f) having problems
with parents because they like travelling,
(g) having problems with parents who
quarrel with other members of the family,
(h) having problems with parents because
they are active in the fl ag raising squad, (i)
being engaged to their boyfriend/girlfriend
but their parents insist that the relation
is to be ended, (j) fl eeing from the house
because of the feeling of being restrained,
(k) wanting to buy a cellular phone but
reluctant to talk to their parents.

(2) Social personal problems, include: (a)
having diffi culty being open with others,
having no close friends, having diffi culty
trusting others, (b) feeling unable to
share problems with other people, (c)
feeling reluctant to interact with school
mates other than those belonging to his/
her group, (d) feeling ashamed of talking
openly to others, (e) feeling uncomfortable
with the situation in the class which lack of
a family atmosphere, (f) feeling unable to
share stories with other people, (g) having
problems with boyfriend/girlfriend, (h)
feeling unable to express feelings, (i)
remain getting along with bad people, (j)
feeling that their boyfriend/girlfriend does
not pay them enough attention, (k) having
problems with classmates, (m) problems
due to lack of confi dence.

(3) Problems with study, include: (a) inability
to concentrate, (b) being lazy to read
books, (c) having problems with English
language, (d) fi nding it hard to learn and
sometimes having the intention to cheat.

Regarding the peers who have been
helped by the peer counselors through
individual or group peer counseling, it turned
out that the number of the counselees was
29 persons. In this regard, however, there
were differences in the number of counselees
belonging to different peer counselors. The
data of peer counselors and peer counselees is
shown in Table 2:

Table 2
Number Of Counselees Helped

By Peer Counselors
No Peer

Counselor’s
initial

Amount of
Counselee

Kind of
Counseling

Class Freq
1. S R XI AK2 3 Individual
2. RHN XI AP3 6 Individual
3. T O XI AP3 3 Individual
4. WS XI UPW2 3 Individual
5 WS XI AK2 3 Individual
6. PA.A. XI UPW2 2 Individual
7. PA.A XI UPW2 5 Group
9 S XI PS1 4 Group

Total 29

The peer counselors felt happy because
they could help other people and were able
to practice the counseling communication
techniques. Almost all the counselees talked
about their problems to the peer counselors
and felt relieved for having shared their stories.
Both the peer counselors and their counselees
became aware of the benefi ts of counseling.
Changes experienced by the counselees are
listed below:
(1) having the capability to be open to friends

because they feel comfortable and not
ashamed. They fi nd it easier to understand
themselves and to solve problems

(2) feeling comfortable when being in a
group because they can feel the problem
experienced by other members of the
group, they can also feel sad or happy

International Journal of Education, Vol. 7 No. 2 May 2014

together, they feel it is easier to be
introspective, and want to change their bad
traits.

(3) feeling pleased, comfortable, relieved,
unashamed to share stories with peers,
and feeling like they now have guidance
for thinking as adults, and are able to be
introspective

(4) feeling pleased for being self confi dent,
open to friends, having fewer burdens,
wanting to change oneself (although it
may not be easy and require time)

(5) feeling more comfortable, having fewer
burdens because they can be open with
friends, and receving good guidance in
solving problems

(6) feeling more comfortable, more peaceful,
more relaxed because they can work
together in solving problems and have
more confi dence to be open with others
so they do not keep their problems to
themselves

(7) knowing one’s own weaknesses and
knowing that the weaknesses need to be
overcome, feeling determined to be better
and useful individuals for others

(8) feeling more peaceful than before when
they felt humiliated, and consequently
feeling more spirited

(9) having more confi dence to face problems
(10)feeling calmer because of being capable

to learn from the problems they had
(11)feeling calmer and capable of seeing the

positive side of the problems they had,
and feeling capable of controlling their
emotions when solving problems

(12)feeling relieved, calm, and able to express
problems more freely, and feeling capable
of solving their problems using their own
strengths

(13)capable of making the right decisions
(14)feeling more confi dent due to the inputs

from peers and feeling more relaxed

(15)feeling capable of considering the desire
to leave home, and as a result they no
longer have a strong desire to leave home

(16)Feeling capable of accepting the
conditions of their parents (changing
from complaining about a lack of fatherly
attention and stress due to the lack of a
harmonious relationship between parents,
to becoming relieved and capable of
accepting the condition of their parents)

(17)feeling more autonomous and confi dent to
confront parents who do not care for them

(18) feeling more aware that in life someone is
not always at the bottom, and that someday
progress will come

(19)trying to learn how to argue and be open
with family, and changing from thinking
one is not being considered to becoming
more enthusiastic about learning to be
more considered.

Results of Hypothesis Test
Before the data of intervention counseling

model result was processed, normality test
was conducted with Z kolmogrov-Sminov test
statistic (p>0.0.5) and variance homogeneity
test (p>0.05). Normality data test Z Gain
Normalize showed Z experiment group
(0.762) and p (0.608), while control group of
Z value (1.176) and p (0.126). This means that
all the data are distributed normally because
the value of p>0.05. The result of the data
variance homogeneity test showed that F
(0.130). df. 1(1), df2 (70), and p (0.720). This
means that the data has a homogeny variance
because the value of p > 0.05.

The results of the mean for the pre-test
and post-test of the experimental group and
control group are shown in Table 3.

Table 4 shows independent t test for
Gain Differential of Experimental group and
Control Group in Self-Direction Competence.

Erhamwilda, Peer Counseling Model For Improving Students’ Self-Direction Competence

From this point of view the peer-
counseling program was effective for
improving the self-direction competence and
sub comperences of self-direction.

Discussion
The test results of the model using a

quasi-experiment showed that overall the peer
counseling model was effective for improving
the three aspects of self-direction competence,
namely self-confi dence, self-reliance, and
self-control.

The research fi ndings agree with Vann
(1966) that students’ self-direction can be
facilitated by implementing peer-mentoring
programs.

The research fi ndings also agree with
Nelson, J.R, Smith, D.J, and Colvin, G (1995),
who discussed: “The effects of a peer-mediated
self-evaluation procedure on the recess
behavior of students with behavior problems”.
They also agree with Dolan, B (1994) who
explained: “A teen talk line run by peers is
shown to be effective and have an impact on
the self-esteem of peers.”The research found
“Self-control and self-management at recess

improved when peers were partnered with
students with behavior problems”.

The clients had at least six new
experiences in peer counseling, namely:
(1) knowing internal confl icts, (2) facing
the reality, (3) developing predictions, (4)
starting new relationships, (5) increasing
psychological freedom, and (6) correcting
wrong concepts (Moh. Surya, 2009:28-29).

Qualitatively, the effectiveness test
results also showed that the students received
positive and valuable experiences by helping
their peers solve their problems. Counselees’
satisfaction of peer counseling service was
refl ected in their written expressions in the
evaluation instruments, such as: the counselees’
expressions of relief after receiving peer
counseling, the feeling of knowing their own
potentials, the feeling of deeper understanding
of their own problems, the feeling of having
somebody to talk to when they have problems,
the feeling of being able to make decisions, and
the feeling of being able to solve problems with
controlled emotions.

The effectiveness of peer-counseling
in improving students’ self-direction is

Table 3
The Means Of Pretest-Posttest Of Control And Experimental Group

Aspect &
sub aspect

Pretest
Control

Posttest
Control

Pretest
Experiment

Posttest
Experiment

Self-Direction 85.35 85.43 85.29 94.11
Self- confi dence 27.81 28.00 28.29 30.83
Self-reliance 28.30 27.97 27.91 30.26
Self-control 36.22 36.05 35.94 40.80

Table 4
Recapitulation t Test For Gain Differential of Experimental and

Control Group in Self-Direction Competence
Aspect –

sub aspect
Experimental Control Differential

Mean t p ExplainationMean Deviation Mean Deviation
Self-Direction 0,171 0,140 -0,005 0,175 0,176 4,688 0,000 Signifi cant
a. Self-confi dence 0.159 0.161 0.013 0.277 0.147 2.721 0.008 Signifi cant
b. Self-Reliance 0.137 0.172 -0.030 0.255 0.167 3.243 0.002 Signifi cant
c. Self-Control 0.190 0.186 -0.020 0.182 0.211 4.861 0.000 Signifi cant

p<0.05 =signifi cant

International Journal of Education, Vol. 7 No. 2 May 2014

supported by several factors, such as: (1) the
implementation of peer-counseling was fully
supported by the School Principals, Vice
School Principals for Student Affairs, school
counselors, homeroom teachers, subject matter
teachers, and the parents of the peer counselors,
(2) the preparation of the model which was
based on needs analysis for the improvement
of self-direction competence, (3) the selection
of peer counselor candidates which was based
on the profi les of self-direction competence,
personal characteristics of the students,
sociometry, average academic performance,
the tendency for providing assistance to peers,
and the students’ preparedness to undergo
peer counseling training, (4) the students
who underwent training were those who were
serious, highly motivated, and voluntary, (5)
the peer counseling was informal in nature and
students were not regulated in terms of time,
place, and targets, (6) the potentials of mutual
assistance among peers were excellent.

The Limitation of the Research and
Recommendations

The research had several limitations,
such as: (1) the number of the samples was
very limited, the experiment groups came
from only four classes in each study program
at one of many SMKs, (2) the needs analysis
for preparing the peer counseling model was
based on the needs analysis carried out in
only one Vocational High School, therefore
the effectiveness model needs more tests
with larger samples, (3) the implementation
of peer counseling at the school was very
much dependent upon the amount of time
peer counselors were able to dedicate to
counseling. They are busy with their academic
activities and various agendas of the school,
and in such cases the peer counselors require
more freedom to conduct peer counseling.

Within one month the number of
counselees who were helped through peer
counseling was relatively small compared
to the number of students who actually had
problems. This is not at all surprising and

perfectly natural for such peer counseling
processes. In this regard, if the research was
carried out with a larger sample and more peer
counselors, and more time was given to the
peer counselors to carry out peer counseling,
and Guidance Counseling teachers were also
involved, the effectiveness of the counseling
model would be more convincing, (4) The
research did not test the extent to which the
improvement of one sub competence of self-
direction had an infl uence to compared to that
of another sub competence (there were no tests
of the interaction among sub variables), (5) the
peer counseling program had not been tested
for its effectiveness for helping students with
severe problems, because the fact showed that
the peer counselors tended to help their peers
without severe problems.

With such limitation of the research,
the peer counseling model for improving
students’ self-direction competence is only
recommended for use as an alternative
mediator in counseling services already
provided by the counselors at the school
where the research was carried out. The
counseling program will remain useful if
the counselors are prepared for innovations
in the existing counseling services. The peer
counseling may also become an alternative
solution for the disproportional ratio between
counselors and students. However, for other
counselors at other schools this counseling
program may inspire them to try out similar
programs with some of their own classes so
that it may become a mediator alternative in
the counseling services at their own schools.

It is also recommended that the use
of peer counseling programs does not mean
that the school counselors hand over the
responsibility to the peer counselors. The
counseling services should remain the
responsibility of the Guidance and Counseling
Coordinator and Guidance and Counseling
teachers. Peer counselors merely act as
facilitators and assist the school counselors.
It is also recommended that other researchers
try out the peer counseling method with other

Erhamwilda, Peer Counseling Model For Improving Students’ Self-Direction Competence

populations for the development of other
personal competences.

Conclusion
The research fi ndings show that the peer

counseling model holds a strategic position
for use as one of the mediators of counseling
services, be it empirically or theoretically
from the view that student development tends
to have some sort of infl uence from their peers.
The counseling model proved effective for
improving the SMK students’ self-direction
competence, consisting of self-confi dence,
self-reliance, and self-control.

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