Examination of educational stakeholders' opinions on the practice of determining first-grade classes and classroom teachers in primary schools via e-School

The study examined how determining primary school first-grade classes and classroom teachers through the e-School system is reflected in the views of teachers, school administrators, and parents. The effects of the transition to the central lottery system on teachers' intrinsic motivation and school administrators' role perceptions were addressed. The research was conducted with 91 participants—35 classroom teachers, 13 school administrators, and 43 parents—in central Erzincan. Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using content analysis. Secondary documents, including the Constitution, laws, regulations, directives, official announcements, and implementation guides, were evaluated through descriptive analysis under the themes of legal basis and placement process. The findings showed that the central lottery system was viewed positively in terms of equal treatment, impartiality, transparency, and reducing the risk of personal attribution. Conversely, the system needs improvement regarding pedagogical suitability, the visibility of teachers' efforts, classroom climate, special circumstances, and reasoned objection processes. Local initiative-based practices provided flexibility in considering the school context, teacher characteristics, and parental expectations; however, they could also create favoritism, unequal access, parental pressure, and comparisons among teachers. Document analysis revealed that the central lottery practice is based on the right to education and the principles of equality and is regulated through lottery procedures, automatic determination via e-School, balanced distribution criteria, class changes, and provisions concerning administrative responsibility. A careful balance must therefore be established between equality and pedagogical suitability when determining classes and classroom teachers.