THE EXERCISE GROUP TECHNIQUE ON ACADEMIC HARDINESS IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

Academic stress related Hardiness (Benishek & Lopez, 2007). Students that have powerful personality 84% able to solve any difficulty, misfortune, and changes that happen in life with optimism and positivity, meanwhile the one that has no powerful personality only 16% students able to act optimistically in a difficult situation, misfortune, and unexpected changes (Lan, 2013). Academic Hardiness provides positive framework for students to react toward academic challenges. Academic toughness is the individual state of resilience toward academic failure: Individuals who have academic hardiness display a willingness to engage in academic challenges, commitment to follow all academic activities, and have control over academic performance for maximum results (Kobasa, Maddi, & Kahn, 1982). The purpose of this study to determine the increase in academic hardiness and decrease in academic stress perceived by Senior High School in Indonesia. Group exercise technique provides an exercise program to increase the commitment, control, and challenge of each student. A quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group with pre-test and post-test was used with a convenience sample of students. Results of academic hardiness profile of high school students have low academic hardiness value with a value academic hardiness aspect: 66% commitment, 22.7% control, and 25.6% challenge. The statistical analyses by paired t-tests revealed that the exercise group technique intervention have a statistically significant effect on increasing academic hardiness scores compared with those who were not given intervention, but the commitment aspect cannot be improved significantly. Further academic hardiness research in senior high school, utilizing the entire academic hardiness intervention, was recommended.