The Impact of Psychoeducation on Improving the Quality of Peer Counseling Comprehension: A Study on Students at SMPN 32

Abstract

One of the efforts of the Surabaya City Education Department to create child-friendly schools is by forming Pemantik (Best Friend Tutors) communities in various public and private junior high schools in Surabaya. SMPN 32 Surabaya actively participates in this community through educational activities on positive values ​​on social media and participation in educational competitions. However, the results of interviews with guidance and counseling teachers at SMPN 32 Surabaya show that the role of Pemantik members has not been optimally involved as peer counselors. Therefore, researchers conducted peer counseling psychoeducation with a focus on efforts to increase knowledge and understanding about peer counseling. The research method used is one group pre-test and post-test experiments. The results show that there are significant differences in students' understanding but the psychoeducation carried out has not been effective as a form of intervention in increasing their knowledge about peer counseling. These results are based on statistical tests of pre-test and post-test scores with paired sample T-tests and N-Gain tests. Therefore, it is necessary to adapt strategies to improve the effectiveness of psychoeducation programs in increasing understanding of peer counseling by means of role play training as counselees and counselors, as well as simplifying the material presented.