<![CDATA[Academic procrastination is a common behavioral problem among junior high school students, characterized by delaying academic tasks despite awareness of the negative consequences that follow, and is often linked to poor time management, low motivation, and avoidance driven by fear of failure. This study examined the effectiveness of group counseling with self-management techniques in reducing students' academic procrastination using a quantitative quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design, involving 12 junior high school students divided into an experimental group (n = 6), which received group counseling with self-management techniques, and a control group (n = 6), which received conventional group guidance without self-management techniques. Data were collected using a validated and reliable academic procrastination questionnaire (Cronbach's Alpha = 0.948) administered before and after treatment, and analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test and the Mann-Whitney U Test. The results showed that the experimental group's mean score increased substantially from 43.67 (pretest) to 62.83 (posttest), a significant within-group improvement confirmed by the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test, whereas the control group's mean score remained largely unchanged (42.33 to 41.17); the posttest comparison between the two groups was statistically significant (Mann-Whitney U = 0, p = 0.0022), with no overlap between the two score distributions. These findings indicate that group counseling with self-management techniques is effective in reducing academic procrastination among junior high school students and offer practical guidance for school counselors in designing effective, evidence-based strategies to address this behavior.]]>
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