ABSTRACT
The present study aims at identifying the effectiveness of the proposed counseling program to develop self-confidence among the students of The World Islamic Sciences and Education University and to identify their level of self-confidence, as well as to find out if there are statistically significant differences between the average of the experimental group members on the pretest and on the posttest, for self-confidence. The study followed the semi-experimental method, where the experimental sample was 124 first year students of the Faculty of Education; they were randomly selected according to the course schedule. The tools of the study were a self-confidence questionnaire and proposed counseling program sessions to develop self-confidence. The results revealed statistically significant differences between the pre and posttests in favor of the posttest, which means the effectiveness of the proposed program for the development of self-confidence, while there were no differences between the two tests; the post and follow-up, which means the continuation of the effectiveness of the proposed program after two months of its application. Based on the findings reached, several recommendations were suggested, the most important of which is that the social and psychological counseling unit must hold more educational and psychological programs for the university students, and adopt the current program and re-apply the program continuously to the university students.
Key words: Counseling program, proposed counseling program, self-confidence.
Self-confidence and success are two sides of a single coin. Success cannot be mentioned without confirming that this successful man is self-confident. Nor can we say that there is a failed person who has confidence in himself. Self-confidence is the first reason for success in life, because it means taking positive attitudes in your life (Al-Qasri, 2001).
Self-confidence is the key to success in life. Those who believe in themselves can do everything in life and who do not trust themselves cannot do anything at all. When we read the history of the successful people in life, they always believe in themselves, unlike the losers who did not raise their intellectual level to the stage of self-confidence, the best way to self-confidence is to believe that the individual has become a capable and responsible person in life (Aldosari, 2008).
Self-confidence has a remarkable effect. Men who trust themselves attract the attention of others by a large percentage and progress rapidly in their work (Al-Faqi, 2007).
On the other hand, self-confident people tend to explore and experience experiences. People who do not have this confidence tend to stay away from such experiences (Al-Natour, 2011).
Self-confidence, that is, the foundation of success does not come from a vacuum and cannot be invented or trying to imitate others. Individual can gain confidence when he gets rid of all the fears that try to inhibit the elements of success within it, they must have a strong sense of ability to succeed in what they want to do by doing business, and when thinking about something the individual must reawaken trust before starting the executive steps. The task of trust makes the individual rush towards the completion of the work without hesitation or fear, so that it is stripped of all negative aspects and elements of weakness (Aldosari, 2008).
What is the reason for the low confidence of most people themselves, despite the progress of science in all fields? What is the relationship between self-confidence and other psychological terms and concepts? Indeed, this was not the case, as Arab and foreign studies began to show self-confidence, either in the analytical descriptive approach (Al-Anzi, 2003), which decided to reveal the sub-components of self-confidence, (2004), which examined the relationship between scholastic achievement, self-confidence, and other studies. Studies on self-confidence are modern, which means the novelty of the term (Al-Anzi and Al-Kandari, 2004) itself and relatively recent spread among the educational community.
This led the researcher to proceed with the design of an orientation program to develop self-confidence among the students of the Islamic University in Gaza, not to mention the researcher's desire to go beyond the description and analysis to the most useful and to gain practical experience by thinking about the mechanism through which the researcher can help the weak. The self-confidence to overcome this crisis and to enjoy a high degree of self-confidence, through the methods and techniques and procedures included in the sessions of guidance, within the program is guided by the researcher and the preparation of its sessions after reading and diligent research and began in the love of aid in this problem to overcome them (Tabarani, 2002).
The problem of the study and its questions
The problem of the study is the main question: How effective is the proposed counseling program to enhance self-confidence among students at The World Islamic Sciences and Education University?
From this question, arise the following sub-questions:
(1) What is the level of self-confidence of the respondents?
(2) Are there statistically significant differences between the average scores of the experimental group on the pre-test and the average score on the post-test of self-confidence?
(3) Are there statistically significant differences between the average scores of the experimental group on the post-test and the average score on the follow-up test to measure the self-confidence?
Study hypotheses
Based on the study's questions, the hypotheses were represented in:
H1. There were statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group on the pretest and posttest of self-confidence in favor of the post-test.
H2. There were no statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group on the post-test and follow-up test of self-confidence.
Purpose of the study
This study aims to:
(1) Identify the effectiveness of the proposed counseling program to enhance self-confidence among students of The World Islamic Sciences and Education University.
(2) Identify the level of self-confidence among students of The World Islamic Sciences and Education University.
(3) Detect whether there were statistically significant differences between the experimental group scores on the tribal scale and their scores on the post-self-confidence scale.
(4) Detect whether there were statistically significant differences between the scores of the experimental group on both the post-scale and the self-confidence scale.
Definition of the study terms
Counseling program
Is an organized program organized in the light of scientific foundations to provide guidance service to all those included in the study (Abu Ghazala, 2000).
Self confidence
Self-confidence is defined procedurally as: "the ability of the individual to rely on himself, to make a decision, and to enjoy his determination, and his awareness of his social, academic and physical competence and investment in light of his trust in God".
The limits of the study
The researcher applied this study in the second semester of the academic year (2017/2018) to the students of The World Islamic Sciences and Education University by preparing the proposed guidance program to enhance self-confidence and use the self-confidence scale on a sample of 36 students who had the lowest grades on the confidence scale. The statistical calculus of the arithmetic averages and Wilcoxson test were used to detect differences between the averages.
The study of Amara and Abdel-Wahab (2016) aimed to verify the effectiveness of an emotional rational mentoring program to improve self-assertion and its impact in developing decision-making skills for Taif University students, using the experimental curriculum on a sample of 20 female students who applied the self-affirmation scale, the decision-making scale, and the advisory program, the results showed the effectiveness of the counseling program in improving self-assertion in developing decision-making skills among Taif University students.
Al-Rashidi (2011) study aimed at the effectiveness of a behavioral cognitive counseling program for developing self-confidence among primary school students in the city of Buraidah, where the research sample consisted of 40 primary school students in the city of Buraidah, from those with low scores on the self-confidence scale and they were divided into two groups (20 women and 20 experimental women). The researcher used the self-confidence scale prepared by Juliet Braille, translated by Mohamed Amr, and a behavioral knowledge counseling program to develop self-confidence prepared by the researcher. This results in the presence of statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the members of the experimental and control groups after applying the program in developing self-confidence, and the differences came in favor of the experimental group. And the effectiveness of the counseling program in developing self-confidence.
Juda study (2007) aimed to identify the levels of emotional intelligence, happiness and self-confidence of Al-Aqsa University students, and to identify the relationship between emotional intelligence and happiness and self-confidence, and the differences between the average of the sample in IQ, happiness and self-confidence, which can be attributed to gender, and the sample of the study was 231 students, including 85 students and 146 students, and the tools used are the scale of emotional intelligence prepared by Abdo and Othman (2002), and the scale of happiness (Argyle and Marton, 1995), modified by Abdul Khaliq, self-confidence scale modified by El-Sebaou (2003), and the study reached the result that the level of happiness was 63.16%, the level of self-confidence was 62.34%, and there was a positive correlation between emotional intelligence, happiness and self-confidence, and the no statistical significant differences in the study variables is due to the gender variable.
Kamel (2005) conducted a study and the study was designed to implement a rational and emotional guidance program to reduce stressful life events in the study sample, which consisted of 40 students from the second division, Educational Technology and Educational Media from the Faculty of Specific Education in Benha. The researcher designed his study tools, namely, the irrational ideas scale. The study showed that there is a positive relationship between irrational thoughts and stressful life events, and there are statistically significant differences between the male and female experimental group scores on the scale of the life pressure events in favor of the posttest, and the presence of statistically significant differences between the scores of the experimental group and control group differences in males and females separately on the events of stressful life posttest in favor of the dimensional scale, and the presence of those differences between the two scales of posttest and follow-up test in favor of follow-up.
Zahran (2003) conducted a study aimed at identifying the effectiveness of a rational, emotional, behavioral, group counseling program proposed to correct the feelings and beliefs of alienation among university students. The study consisted of 70 students, 35 experimental groups and 35 control groups. The researcher prepared a measure of feelings of alienation and a measure of beliefs, and the program of mental health guidance to correct feelings and beliefs of alienation. The study found a relationship between the feelings of alienation and the beliefs of alienation, and the effectiveness of the program to guide mental health (rational, emotional, and behavioral) in correcting feelings of alienation and beliefs.
Sharawi (2003) conducted a study, the purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of a program in rational, emotional and behavioral guidance in improving the level of emotional equilibrium in the sample of the study which consisted of 40 persons, 20 males and 20 females of second year students from the Faculty of Education in Banha. The results showed a decrease in the level of impulsivity among the experimental group after application, as well as for females, and the continued effectiveness of the pilot program in reducing the level of the experimental group after a period of time.
El-Sebaou (2003) conducted a study aimed at demonstrating the effectiveness of affirmative training for the development of affirmative behavior and social skills and its effects on some characteristics of the personality of the university youth. The sample consisted of 34 females, 14 males, 17 females and 7 males experimental sample and other 7 in the control group. The tools used were the affirmative training program and the affirmative behavior scale, both prepared by the researcher and the Arab list of optimism and pessimism prepared by Amara and Abdel (1996) and the list of five major factors of personality. The results of this study were the effectiveness of the affirmative training program and its effect on the behavior of the researcher, emphasis and on measured personality traits.
Mazrou’s (2003) study aimed to identify the elements of psychological loneliness and the design of a mentoring program to reduce the sense of psychological loneliness in the sample of the study consisting of 20 students from the University of Umm Al-Qura and resident in the housing units of the university. The study tools were in the sense of psychological unity (Qashqush), the successive matrices (Raven), the socio-economic scale of the Saudi family (Ajlan) and the guidance program (researcher preparation). The results showed statistical significant differences between the average scores of the sample on the scale of the pre and post psychological unit in favor of the post, the differences were statistically significant.
Population of the study
The population of the study consisted of all students enrolling in The World Islamic Sciences and Education University during the academic year 2017/2018.
Study tools
The tools of the study are the self-confidence scale, used before the application of the guidance program and after the completion of its sessions.
Statistical methods
The researcher used a number of statistical methods: Gattman, Alpha Kornbach equation, arithmetic mean and Wilkinson test for differences between grade averages.
Procedures of the study
After intensive reading, the subject was chosen. Previous researches relating to the theoretical framework were studied. Because the subject self-confidence is new and there are lack of resources on this subject, information relating to self-esteem and self-assertion and personal competence were resorted to. The necessary statistical methods were implemented, and then the questionnaire was applied to the actual sample taken from the experimental sample. The Social and Psychological Counseling Unit also assisted the students' affairs. The program was verified using statistical methods needed. Two months after the completion of the application of the sessions of the program, it was applied again to obtain results for follow-up application.
The main question of the study is, how effective is the proposed counseling program to enhance self-confidence among students at The World Islamic Sciences and Education University? The following questions emerged from it.
The first sub-question: What is the level of self-confidence of the respondents?
To answer this question, the arithmetic mean of the sample scores was calculated on the questionnaire, which was 81.38, with a standard deviation of 9.
This means that the level of self-confidence of the actual sample is higher than the average of the questionnaire, but not much higher. The highest default score for the questionnaire is 117, and the average is higher than the default average. However, this does not prevent the implementation of self-confidence sessions, and does not prevent interference to raise the level of students and develop self-confidence in them; to improve their personalities and raise them for the better, and make sure when talking that this proposed program is developmental, not preventive or therapeutic, the reason that the members of the sample gain such a degree to the method of parenting at home, which often distinguishes between the girl and the boy, and allows the boy and does not allow the girl, and may deprive the girl to do things permitted by the law, such as education and others, not to mention the words that parents are surprised by the girl if she wants to talk or express her opinion, like "be silent", you don't understand? Stay away, and don't interfere, and if she said: Why is my brother allowed and I am not allowed? They said to her: When you are a boy, we allow you to be like him, and the calamity is greater if the ruler of the family is the brother and not one of the parents, and more if the girl is the eldest and controlled by her younger brother, and hear from him words that reduce and destroy her morale, then she will lose confidence in herself.
The second sub-question: Are there statistically significant differences between the average scores of the experimental group on the pre-test and the average score on the post-test of self-confidence?
To answer this question, two hypotheses emerged.
The first hypothesis: There were statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group on the two tests pre/post of self-confidence in favor of the post-test
To determine the validity of this hypothesis, the researcher used a Wilcoxon T-statistic test. This test was used in the case of comparison between two small and coherent samples, and the result is shown in Table 1.
It is clear from the table that there are statistically significant differences between the grades for both the pre and post applications in favor of the post-application, which means the effectiveness of the counseling program. The researcher attributes these differences to the fact that the experimental group has received group counseling sessions in which many activities and in-depth discussions are based on scientific foundations for the development of self-confidence. The researcher believes that the development of self-confidence among university students is more difficult than developing them in the younger age groups of the university, because the undergraduate stage is characterized by the idea of the individual itself not being changed only by a mechanism considered scientifically and professionally, and this is what the researcher did, in which the participants were instructed to stand up accurately on the reasons for their low self-confidence. These reasons were due to the large number of negative instructions received by participants from their parents or those who performed their duties. In addition, many of them are frustrated, especially in high school, where they expect a high degree to allow entry to a particular subject, but surprise at a low rate is not allowed to join what they want, accompanied by harsh comments from parents, which worsens the bad situation, among the reasons also that some participants do not enjoy a required beauty, and the parents distinguish between them and their sisters in terms of physical beauty. These reasons were taken into account in the program sessions through scientific and practical knowledge on how to overcome this crisis. By following the guidance techniques scientifically studied proved effective in the field of counseling programs, starting from the dialogue and discussion that was inherent to each session of the program, which was of great importance in raising the level of self-confidence of participants. This was evidenced by their recognition that the subjects that were discussed in the sessions had a great impact on them extended to life in general, both in the university where participant can participate in the discussion and express her opinion without shame or fear, furthermore, people around her and companions have noted that.
Power Point presentations have been very attractive and useful in consolidating information and installed in the minds of the participants.
The drawing also was something new to the participants and unfamiliar, and was accepted by them despite the refusal and resistance of some of them initially.
There was therefore an effectiveness of the counseling program, and there were statistically significant differences between pre and post applications. This result is consistent with the results of several previous studies (Shaheen and Hamdi, 2008), whose program was designed to reduce the level of PTSD for students from the city of Ramallah, and El-Sebaoui (2003), which was in the development of positive training and its effectiveness on some personality traits, and other empirical studies.
The second hypothesis: There were no statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group on the post-test and follow-up test of self-confidence
The researcher used the Wilcoxon T-statistic test to compare the average grade of the experimental group members in the posttest and their mean scores in the follow-up measurement. The result is shown in Table 2.
It is clear from the table that there are no statistically significant differences between the two applications (pre/post) and the follow-up, which means the continued effectiveness of the proposed counseling program to develop self-confidence among students of the Islamic University in Gaza.
It is clear from the table that there are no statistically significant differences between the two applications. This means that the program will continue to be effective two months after the end of its implementation. This means the consistency of the result of the current study with many previous empirical studies, for example (Shaarawi, 2003).
The effectiveness of the program is due to the strength of its sessions, its solid scientific ground, its adoption of methods and techniques that are studied in practice, as explained earlier, and its design after a good knowledge of the subject and the characteristics of the university age.
Based on the findings in this study, the following are recommended:
(1) The Social and Psychological Counseling Unit must hold more educational and psychological programs for university students and adopt the current program.
(2) Re-apply the program constantly to university students.
(3) Attention to student problems and try to help students find alternatives and solutions to help them to overcome the obstacles they face.
(4) Holding seminars for parents on various topics on the methods of proper formation and how to develop self-confidence for their children in mental centers and institutions concerned with childhood.
(5) Holding seminars for university students on topics and issues of interest to them, such as how to choose a specialization and how to excel in the field of specialization.
(6) Activate the role of psychological counseling center in the Department of Psychology in a way that helps cover the huge volume of problems in the university and the community.
The authors have not declared any conflict of interests.
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