Researching the relationship between barriers and attitude perceived by vocational open high school students towards distance education

The aim of this study was to determine the online barriers faced by students in Vocational Open Education High School and to examine the effects of these barriers on their attitudes towards distance education. For this purpose, the relational survey model which is one of the quantitative research methods was used. The study group was determined using appropriate sampling method. The research was conducted on 459 students in 5 Vocational and Technical Anatolian High Schools providing education for Vocational Open High School students in 2017-2018 academic year. Gebze and Darica districts where the schools are located were thought to be more successful in reflecting the universe since these districts have a structure that includes immigrants and students from different segments of the society. The questionnaires were conducted by the researcher on face-to-face students in these schools. Of these students, 343 (74.7%) were male and 116 (25.3%) were female. In the study, the scale of obstacles faced by online learning students and the scale of distance education students' views on distance education were used as data collection tools. Data collection tools were conducted face to face by the researcher in 2017-2018 academic year. It takes about 40 minutes for a total of 3 pages to be answered by a student. SPSS program was used to analyze the data. Linear regression analysis was used to analyze the data in the study. According to the findings of the study, it was observed that the students encountered online obstacles significantly. A significant relationship was found among a subdimension of obstacles and attitude, marital status and gender were found. It was determined that gender variable had a significant effect as a result of analyzes. Male students have a higher attitude towards distance education than female students. The beta value of marital status variable was found to be positive and direct proportion. According to this study, it was found that the students whose marital status are married exhibited more positive attitude than those of the single in the research. When the social interaction variable was examined, it was found that beta value was positive and direct proportion. It can be stated that the attitude of the students increased as the variable of social interactions increased. It was seen that the students were unable to use online learning tools. The majority of students are still contented with using printed materials. Although 71.6% of the group had internet connection at home, it was observed that they fell short to follow the online courses. In this study, students aged 14 years and over 25 years of age were enrolled; it was noticed that young students were less confronted with technical problems than older students. Most of the students encountered obstacles in the management and instructional issues. Students who are familiar with face-to-face education have encountered a problem of adaptation to non-teaching education. Public education centers should work more in this regard.