Students’ attitudes towards using information and communication technology for the purpose of counselling

Transformation in Higher Education

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Students’ attitudes towards using information and communication technology for the purpose of counselling
 
Creator Dlaza, Zikhona Marais, Rivca
 
Subject Higher Education; Psychology; Information and Communication Technology higher education institutions; attitudes; information and communication technology; online counselling; students
Description Technology is widely utilised as a learning tool in higher education, yet its adoption in counselling services within institutions remains limited. The growing use of online counselling is recognised internationally in providing mental health services. However, this mode of delivering mental health services is generally under-explored in South African universities. Research suggests that it is essential to determine the extent to which clients would be interested in using online counselling before implementing it. Therefore, this study investigates university students’ attitudes towards the use of online counselling services and explores the significance of age and gender differences in these attitudes. Data were gathered from students through self-administered questionnaires, with a total of 266 respondents (N = 266). The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings confirmed a generally mixed attitude towards online counselling, which was not significantly influenced by gender and age differences. Overall, the findings encourage a critical reflection on modern psychological practices in higher education institutions to better meet students’ needs.Contribution: This study explores the evolving digital landscape in higher education and its impact on student well-being, with a focus on information and communication technology-based counselling in the South African context. By examining students’ attitudes towards these digital interventions, the study contributes to ongoing discussions on the accessibility and effectiveness of mental health support in higher education. The study also acknowledges artificial intelligence’s potential to enhance accessibility, efficacy and ethicality in navigating mental health challenges.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor CSIR-Interbursary.
Date 2025-09-06
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/the.v10i0.492
 
Source Transformation in Higher Education; Vol 10 (2025); 9 pages 2519-5638 2415-0991
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://thejournal.org.za/index.php/thejournal/article/view/492/965 https://thejournal.org.za/index.php/thejournal/article/view/492/966 https://thejournal.org.za/index.php/thejournal/article/view/492/967 https://thejournal.org.za/index.php/thejournal/article/view/492/968
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2025 Zikhona Dlaza, Rivca Marais https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
ADVERTISEMENT