Integration of Contemporary Islamic Counseling in Group Guidance to Improve Students' Social Skills in Non-Formal Education

Abstract

Social skills are essential for effective communication, cooperation, and active participation among students. However, preliminary observations at Sanggar Bimbingan Kepong, Malaysia, revealed that several students demonstrated low levels of communication, teamwork, and participation in group activities. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of Contemporary Islamic Counseling integrated into group guidance services to improve students' social skills in a nonformal educational setting. This study employed a qualitative Guidance and Counseling Action Research (PTBK) design conducted through two cycles involving planning, action, observation, and reflection. Participants consisted of eight students in Cycle I and seven students in Cycle II, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through participatory observation, interviews, evaluations, and documentation and analyzed descriptively. The findings showed significant improvements in social skills, with communication increasing from 65% to 92%, cooperation (ta'awun) from 58% to 88%, and courage from 52% to 85%. Process evaluation scores increased from 35.1 to 43.4, while final evaluation scores rose from 20.2 to 31.8. These findings indicate that Contemporary Islamic Counseling effectively improves students' social skills, self-awareness, and positive character development in nonformal education.