The Effect of Motivational Interviewing on Academic Procrastination in Students of High School in Bukan City

Introduction: Academic procrastination is one of the common factors in a student's life that makes examining variables affecting it, such as academic motivation necessary. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of motivational interviewing on the status of academic procrastination in pupils studying at a high school.  Methods: This study was an experimental one with a pre-test, a post-test, and a control group. The statistical population includes all first and secondary high school students in the city of Bukan in the academic year 2018-2019. Forty students were selected by random multi-stage cluster sampling method and randomly assigned into two groups of an experimental and control group of twenty people each. The independent variable was the motivational interview training package based on Fields's 2006 model, which was applied to the experimental group in five ninety-minute sessions, while the control group followed its normal program. The instrument used in the study was the procrastination scale by Lay 1986. For analyzing data, univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used.  Results: The results showed that the academic procrastination of the experimental group decreased compared to the control group. Conclusions: Therefore it can be concluded that this program is an effective intervention and has improved the motivation level of pupils and reduced their academic procrastination.