Attitudes and views of science teachers working in village schools towards distance education

In this study, the attitudes of science teachers working in village schools towards distance education and their views on the process were examined. In the research, a mixed research method was used. The cross-sectional survey model was used in the quantitative dimension of the research, and the explanatory case study method was used in the qualitative dimension. The sample of the research consists of 54 science teachers working in village schools in a province of Inner Anatolian Region in the spring term of 2020-2021. The quantitative data of the study were collected with the "Attitude Scale towards Distance Education" expanded by Ağır (2007), and the qualitative data were collected with a semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher. The data obtained from the Attitudes towards Distance Education Scale were analyzed with basic statistics such as frequency, percentage and mean, independent group test and one-way analysis of variance. Qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis. As a result of the research, it was determined that the attitude levels of science teachers towards distance education were high. No significant difference was found between the attitudes of science teachers towards distance education and the variable of gender and professional seniority. However, it was concluded that the science teachers working in the village did not find the distance education process efficient. Teachers stated that students' participation in the lesson is low due to limited internet access and lack of devices. Furthermore, teachers stated that they experienced both technical problems and problems arising from the platforms used. In addition, it was observed that most of the teachers could not train the curriculum. The reason for this is stated as the methods and techniques used face-to-face are not suitable for distance education, classroom control is difficult, students cannot attend the lesson, and the duration of the lesson is short. The expectations of the teachers from the parents are that they take care of and follow their children, communicate with their teachers and do not interfere with the course flow. It has been determined that the majority of the science teachers working in the village find the distance education platforms insufficient.The expectations of teachers from the platforms have been determined as increasing student active participation, increasing activities and visual content, including online trials and questions, being open and free to all, being aimed at the LGS exam and having the ability to track student success. It was observed that the teachers made preparations for lesson plans, visual materials, questions, lecture materials and equipment in the distance education process. It has been determined that teachers use visual materials, demonstration experiments, assignment with experiments, question solving and educational games in the distance education process instead of the experiments/activities in the science lesson, which is an applied course. In this context, infrastructural deficiencies identified in village schools during the distance education process can be eliminated. Tablets, computers and internet access can be provided to students who study in villages and cannot attend distance education classes, so that they can actively participate in the lessons. The content of the platforms used in distance education can be enriched. To raise awareness of parents about distance education, parent information meetings can be held. In addition to this, wider results can be obtained by working with samples from different branches and schools.