Perspectives of primary class teachers on the distance education process during the COVID-19 pandemic period

In this study, it is aimed to determine the perspectives of primary school classroom teachers on the distance education process during the COVID-19 pandemic period. In this context, face-to-face interviews were conducted with classroom teachers working in the central and rural areas and information about their experiences was obtained. . In order to obtain in-depth information about the process from classroom teachers, a case science pattern of qualitative research methods was used in the research. 32 Classroom teachers from the districts located in the Southeastern Anatolia region and 20 unified classroom teachers from 10 village schools participated in the study. In the interview, a semi structured interview form consisting of 8 questions was applied to classroom teachers. In the interview form, general questions about distance education for classroom teachers, their experiences with parents, their experiences with the school administration and questions that will determine the ideas of the Ministry of Education to manage the process were included. Some teachers were face-to-face with some teachers, and some teachers were interviewed using an interview form uploaded to Google forms in a virtual environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The collected data were described using the content analysis method. The method of coding the answers of classroom teachers to each question is divided into transmit themes, and the codes are written under these themes. Findings were determined from the light of these themes and codes obtained. According to the results of the research, they stated that 50 percent of classroom teachers can use distance education in mandatory cases and that there are elements that need to be developed. In this process, they stated that they need more communication with parents and this makes their work easier, and the same sensitivity should be maintained in face- to-face training. On the other hand, 25 percent of classroom teachers stated that distance education is not very efficient for students at the elementary school level and that their academic achievement has decreased. They stated that the reason for this is that students of primary school age adapt to the lesson for a certain period of time in live lessons, and after a while their motivation dissipates. 50 percent of the classroom teachers stated that the students at the primary school level mostly perform collaborative learning, life-by living learning and peer education methods and complete learning. They stated that these teaching methods and techniques are not applied through distance education and that this is why full learning cannot take place. 75 Percent of the teachers stated that there was more workload in the distance education process and that live on-screen classes were more exhausting for both the student and the teacher than face-to-face training. One hundred and 60 percent of the classroom teachers stated that they were satisfied with the decisions taken by the school administration and the Ministry of Education to manage the process. 40 percent of teachers think that the process is not being managed healthily due to the necessity of coming to school for 1 day during the distance education process, the lack of live lesson hours and the fact that students are not given enough support. In the light of the obtained data, it was concluded that distance education can be developed and used in mandatory cases, except for such cases, it is not suitable for students at the primary school level. Keywords: Distance Education, Primary School Teacher, Pandemic Process