Teacher and parent views on the first literacy process during the COVID-19 pandemic

In this study, it is aimed to determine the opinions of classroom teachers and parents about the literacy process that started with primary school in the 2020-2021 academic year and continued with distance education and face-to-face education with the Covid-19 pandemic period. The participants of the research are primary school teachers and parents of these teachers in the city center of Malatya in the 2020-2021 academic year. Within the scope of the purpose of the study, opinions were obtained from 11 classroom teachers and 31 parents selected by criterion sampling method, one of the purposeful sampling methods, on a voluntary basis. The model of the research, which adopts the qualitative research approach, is the case study. A semi-structured interview form was used as a data collection tool and the collected data were analyzed by content analysis method. As a result of the analysis of the data obtained in the research, the findings were examined under 4 headings. Under the heading of Teachers' Opinions on the Preparation Phase, 2 themes emerged as Preparatory Studies for the Student and Preparation for the Parents. Under the title of Teachers' Opinions on Beginning and Progress in Initial Reading, 5 themes emerged: Activities performed by the teacher, methods and techniques used by the teacher, materials and tools used, problems experienced and solutions to problems. Under the heading of Parents' Opinions on the Preparation Phase, two themes emerged as Preparation Studies for Distance Education and Preparation Studies for Face-to-face Education. Under the title of Parents' Views on Initial Literacy Beginning and Progress Stage, 3 themes emerged: Reading, Writing and Problems Experienced. According to the findings obtained from the research, it was revealed that teachers had difficulties in the distance education process and could not actively involve students in the process as in face-to-face education. It has been observed that teachers, students, and parents have adaptation problems during the pandemic period and they prefer face-to-face education instead of distance education. While it is seen that the parents find it more appropriate to continue literacy activities from home through distance education due to the Covid-19 pandemic period, in terms of hygiene, it has been concluded that they support face-to-face education and find it more beneficial in the absence of the pandemic process. It has been suggested that in-service trainings can be given to teachers for literacy during the Covid-19 pandemic, the technological infrastructure for distance education can be supported, and guidance support based on parent and teacher cooperation can be provided. Keywords: Covid-19 pandemic, Literacy teaching, Distance learning, Teachers, Parents, Semi-structured interview