Problems of village schools in Turkey: A meta-synthesis study

This study, which addresses the problems of village schools from a holistic perspective, was conducted using the meta-synthesis methodology, one of the qualitative research methods. Meta synthesis methodology is the process of bringing together and evaluating the qualitative findings of research on a specific topic with a qualitative approach. In this study, the data obtained from 25 research articles on the problems of village schools, which were conducted with qualitative research methodology and met the inclusion criteria of the meta-synthesis study, were analyzed and evaluated in accordance with the nature of meta-synthesis. The research questions of the study, which are the problems encountered in the implementation of multigrade classes, the problems encountered in the implementation of bused education, the problems encountered by the administrators working in village schools, and the problems encountered by the teachers working in village schools, were created as a result of the data obtained by the coding method from the 25 research articles included in the meta-synthesis. The findings of the meta synthesis study on research problems are as follows: Teachers working in multigrade classes where classes at multiple levels are taught together are unable to complete the program due to the difficulties of the multigrade nature and the lack of a separate education program for these classes. Other reasons for the failure of the program are that the teachers working in multigrade classes have to fulfill the administrative duties of the school, the school buildings are old and poorly maintained, there is no auxiliary staff, and maintenance and repair work has to be done by teachers. On the problems encountered in bused education; long transportation distances may cause students to experience physical and psychological problems. Problems experienced with the service vehicle and the service driver negatively affect the perspective of students and parents towards bused education. There is a need to increase inspections to reduce problems related to the lunch provided for students on transportation. The roads on the transportation route need to be repaired at regular intervals. Administrators working in village schools think that senior administrations make a distinction between central and village schools. It was found that teachers were not willing to work in village schools, so there was a rapid turnover of teachers, and some positions remained vacant or were filled with paid teachers. School buildings are old and poorly maintained, and maintenance and repair work is carried out by administrators due to the lack of auxiliary staff. Regarding the problems faced by teachers working in village schools, teachers who do not have a lodging house or a house for rent in the village commute back and forth to the village. This situation causes teachers to wake up early in the morning and get tired during the journey. These problems negatively affect teachers' performance in the educational process. Other problems encountered by teachers are parents' lack of interest, students being employed in village work and students' frequent absenteeism. It was determined that these problems negatively affected students' academic achievement.Keywords: Village School, Village Teacher, Multigrade Classroom, Bused Education, Teachers with Principal Authority