Junior High School Students' Need and Problem Assessment Instrument: Development of Android-Based Assessment Instrument

The present study aims to develop a Student Problem and Need Instrument (IKPS) in junior high school level. IKPS is a part of an assessment process carried out by a school counsellor, which serves as the basis for designing Guidance and Counselling program. IKPS is an Android-based application developed using Plomp and Nieveen's educational design research model. The following steps were done: (1) Preliminary research; (2) Prototyping stage; and (3) Assessment phase. In the first stage, we selected the school to conduct this study. After that, we reviewed theoretical concepts on students' needs and problem assessment instruments. The theoretical review was focused on the standard competence a student should attain according to the American School Counsellors Association (ASCA) national model. The second stage (prototyping stage) was carried out after the paper-based instrument passed the validity and reliability tests. The application was developed after the paper-based instrument was considered valid and reliable according to the result of exploratory factor analysis involving 2424 students. In the third stage, the field try-out was done in schools. The present study was conducted in two years, the first year (2019) focused on theoretical review and prototyping stage (phases 1 and 2), while the second year (2020) focused on examining the effectiveness of the product (phase 3). This article was the result of the first year of the study. The result of the first-year stage was a paper-based instrument and application prototype of students' needs and problem instruments. This product will undergo the next phase for evaluation and feasibility by considering three aspects, namely, validity, practicality, and effectiveness (Plomp & Nieven, 2013).