Pamomong: Journal of Islamic Educational Counseling

Employability Skills and Career Readiness Among Muslim Vocational Students: Mediating Role of Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Rapid changes in the labour market require vocational students to develop career readiness supported by employability skills and psychological resources for career decision-making. This study tested the direct and indirect effects of employability skills on career readiness via Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy (CDMSE) among Grade-12 Muslim vocational students. Using a cross-sectional design, all students at SMK Multicomp Depok, Indonesia (N = 215) were surveyed using saturated sampling, with Muslim status verified through school records. Adapted measures were used: the Self-Perceived Employability Scale (α = .96), the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale (α = .95), and the Student Career Readiness Scale (α = .98). Mediation was examined using PROCESS Macro for SPSS (Model 4) with bootstrap resampling. Employability skills significantly predicted CDMSE (b = 1.21, SE = .12, t = 10.22, p < .01; R² = .33) and career readiness (direct effect controlling for CDMSE: b = .66, SE = .11, t = 6.09, p < .01). CDMSE also significantly predicted career readiness (b = .42, SE = .05, t = 8.13, p < .01; model R² = .53). The indirect effect of employability skills on career readiness via CDMSE was significant (b = .51, SE = .09, 95% BC CI [.35, .70]), indicating partial mediation. The findings support Social Cognitive Career Theory and suggest that guidance and counseling programs should integrate employability development with interventions that strengthen decision-making self-efficacy. Limitations include the cross-sectional design, self-report measures, and a single-school sample; future research should use longitudinal designs and broader settings to improve generalizability.

Analysis of Muslim Students' Resilience in Coping with Prolonged Grief

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Resilience plays a crucial role in helping students cope with prolonged grief, as experiences of loss can negatively affect their psychological well-being. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of self-efficacy and self-esteem on students’ resilience in dealing with prolonged grief. This study employed a cross-sectional predictive design involving 346 students from Malang State University selected through purposive sampling. This study used three instruments measuring self-efficacy (X₁), self-esteem (X₂), and resilience (Y), all of which employed a Likert scale and were tested for validity and reliability. The reliability test showed α = .856 for the self-efficacy scale, α = .831 for the self-esteem scale, and α = .745 for the resilience scale. The results of the analysis after conducting validity tests and regression tests yielded the regression model Y=6.742+.412X₁+.283X₂+ε. The coefficients were β₁ (self-efficacy) = .412 (t = 4.568; p < .001) and β₂ (self-esteem) = .283 (t = 2.476; p = .014). The results indicate that self-efficacy and self-esteem significantly and positively predict resilience. This study contributes theoretically by supporting a positive psychology framework and providing recommendations for preventive interventions, although its cross-sectional design limits causal inference. Future research is encouraged to employ longitudinal or experimental designs and to include mediating or moderating variables such as social support, coping strategies, or personality factors to strengthen the explanatory model.

Multicultural Personality of Professional Counselor Candidates: Evidence from Rasch DIF Analysis

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study examined the multicultural personality profile of professional counselor candidates and the gender fairness of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire–Short Form (MPQ-SF). Using a quantitative descriptive design with Rasch-based psychometric analysis, the study involved 90 students from the Guidance and Counseling Teacher Professional Education Program (Pendidikan Profesi Guru Bimbingan dan Konseling [PPG BK]) at Universitas Negeri Makassar, comprising 20 males and 70 females with a mean age of 25.01 years. Data were collected using the 40-item MPQ-SF, which measures cultural empathy, flexibility, social initiative, emotional stability, and open-mindedness. Descriptive results showed relatively strong cultural empathy, flexibility, and open-mindedness, while social initiative and emotional stability remained moderate. After six misfitting persons were excluded, the final Rasch calibration was conducted with 84 respondents and showed acceptable psychometric quality, including person reliability of .89, item reliability of .96, raw variance explained by measures of 38.0%, and unexplained variance in the first contrast of 8.2%. Gender-based Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analysis indicated that most items functioned comparably across groups, although five items (14, 24, 25, 34, and 36) showed significant DIF. These findings suggest that the MPQ-SF provides a useful multicultural personality profile for counselor candidates, but gender-sensitive items require cautious interpretation. Future studies should involve more diverse samples and examine additional DIF sources, including ethnicity.

Muslim Students’ Verbal Creativity and Learning Skills for Counseling Program Planning

Hartini Hartini, Hasta Purnaputra, Edi Wahyudi, Wael Algommaly — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study examined Muslim postgraduate students’ verbal creativity and learning skills as an empirical basis for designing data-based guidance and counseling programs in Islamic higher education. A quantitative descriptive design was employed, involving 18 postgraduate students selected through saturated sampling. Data were collected using the Verbal Creativity Test and a 63-item Learning Skills Questionnaire in Higher Education, which demonstrated excellent reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = .951). The verbal creativity test showed that 66.7% of students were classified in the average category, 27.8% were below average, and 5.5% were borderline. These findings indicate that most students had adequate verbal creativity, although some still showed limitations in fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. The learning skills profile showed varied achievement across six dimensions: selecting and completing study loads, participating effectively in lectures, memory and concentration, completing assignments and written work, test-taking skills, and learning from and with others. The lowest areas of concern were assignment completion, academic writing, learning resilience, reference use, and collaborative learning. These results suggest that students require structured support in academic writing, learning regulation, reference searching, test preparation, self-concept development, and collaborative learning. The findings provide a basis for designing guidance and counseling services through information services, content mastery, individual counseling, group guidance, and group counseling. The proposed program integrates psychological support with relevant Qur’anic and hadith-based values to strengthen students’ self-regulation, academic responsibility, and verbal creativity. This study contributes to the development of data-based counseling services for Muslim students in higher education.

Gender Similarities and Domain-Specific Differences in Religious Motivation among Muslim High School Students in Java

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Religious motivation is an important psychological resource for adolescents, yet limited research has examined gender similarities and differences among Muslim students in general high schools, particularly in the Javanese cultural context. This study aimed to examine overall and domain-specific differences in religious motivation between male and female Muslim high school students in Central and East Java. A quantitative comparative design was used involving 754 students, consisting of 446 female and 308 male respondents selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using the 14-item Religious Motivation Scale, which showed item validity coefficients ranging from .257 to .559 and good internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha of .869. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize respondents’ characteristics and religious motivation scores, while the Mann–Whitney U test was applied because the normality assumption was not met. The results showed no significant gender difference in overall religious motivation, indicating broad similarity between male and female students. However, small domain-specific differences were found in ubudiah practice and avoidance of unethical practices, with female students showing higher mean ranks in both domains. These findings contribute theoretically by showing that gender differences in religious motivation are culturally situated and domain-specific rather than universal or fixed. Practically, the study supports gender-responsive and non-stereotypical Islamic educational counseling programs. The study is limited by convenience sampling, self-report data, focus on gender, and absence of population-based weighting. Future studies should examine broader contextual factors shaping adolescents’ religious motivation.

Career Exploration Predicts Career Decision-Making among Final-Year Students in Islamic Higher Education

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Final-year students in Islamic higher education often face difficulties in making career decisions during the transition from university to employment. Although career exploration is widely recognized as an important component of career development, empirical evidence on its predictive contribution to career decision-making in Islamic higher education remains limited. This study examined whether career exploration predicts career decision-making and identified the level of career exploration among final-year students. A quantitative correlational survey design was used with 113 final-year students selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using career exploration and career decision-making scales and analyzed using descriptive statistics and simple linear regression. Reliability analysis showed Cronbach’s alpha values of .837 for the career exploration scale and .926 for the career decision-making scale. The results indicated that career exploration was a positive and significant predictor of career decision-making (B = 1.076, β = .729, p < .001). The regression model explained 53.2% of the variance in career decision-making (R² = .532), suggesting that students with higher career exploration tended to report stronger career decision-making ability. Descriptive analysis showed that most respondents had a moderate level of career exploration (64.6%), followed by high (28.3%) and low (7.1%) levels. These findings may inform Islamic value-based career counseling services that help students explore career options and make more reflective decisions. This study is limited by its correlational design, self-report data, and single-institution sample. Future research should examine additional variables, use longitudinal or mixed-methods designs, and involve broader Islamic higher education contexts.