This study examines the positive and negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and distance education practices on students, teachers, and parents from the perspective of school counselors. This research was carried out within the scope of phenomenology design, a qualitative research method. The data were obtained via purposive sampling through online interviews conducted with 55 public school counselors at the end of the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year in Turkey. Content analysis was utilized to analyze the obtained data. The school counselors expressed that the pandemic had positive and negative relational, individual/psychological, and academic effects on students; positive and negative effects on the application of education and personal lives of teachers; and positive and negative effects on the parent–child–education relationship and the personal lives of parents. The results are discussed in relation to the relevant literature and recommendations are made.

Keywords: Pandemic, COVID-19, Distance education, Effects of the pandemic on education, School counselor