Connecting Digitally with the Gen 'Z': A Phenomenological Study on the Challenges of School Counselors amidst the Pandemic

Monaliza P. Cayatoc MAG RGC, Li Mackenzie C. De Chavez, Casper Dean D. Pineda, Alissa Cyrell T. Cuan, Jordan Louigis D. Roncal, Anroechel Nicole L. Narboneta, Daniel Carlos Tagod

Adjustment, Challenges, Digital Language, Ethical standards, School counselors

Background: School counselors will come across different generations of students with varying experiences and personalities in a counseling environment. A counselor is coming from a more direct and physical atmosphere of interaction, moving to a new digital climate made of more indirect adjustments and changes that may influence the counselor's different experiences towards moving to a new counseling environment. Methods: With five selected respondents, this research follows a qualitative phenomenological approach, using semi-structured interviews to address the challenges school counselors face in interacting with the newer generation of students. Results:  This study has revealed three phases found in a cycle of counseling the Gen ‘Z’ expressed in the themes: exposure, purpose, and guidance. Conclusion: School counselors face challenges in self-assessment and interaction with the students owing to the digital languages of the Gen ‘Z’, whilst maintaining their approaches and ethical standards. Recommendation: Counselors’ best practice is the continuous learning of the vast multifarious and dynamic digital languages.

https://doi.org/10.31871/IJNTR.7.12.10