An investigation of teachers' virtual classroom management competencies according to the views of school administrators and teachers

The aim of the study is to examine the virtual classroom management competencies of teachers according to the views of school administrators and teachers. Convergent parallel design of mixed method was used in the study. The population of the study consists of school administrators and teachers working in public education institutions in Ataşehir and Esenyurt districts of Istanbul province in the 2021-2022 academic year. The quantitative dimension of the study was shaped according to the descriptive survey and the qualitative dimension was shaped according to the case study design. In the quantitative dimension of the study, 800 teachers selected by simple random sampling method participated. In the qualitative dimension, 20 teachers and 10 school administrators, who were determined by convenience sampling and maximum diversity sampling method within the scope of purposeful sampling method, participated. As data collection tools; "Teachers' Virtual Classroom Management Competency Scale" developed by Can and Gündüz (2021a) and semi-structured interview questions consisting of five questions each for teachers and school administrators developed by the researcher were used. Quantitative research data were analyzed using SPSS 14.0 program and qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis and descriptive analysis. As a result of the study, according to the opinions of school administrators and teachers, it was revealed that teachers considered themselves competent in virtual classroom management. Among the demographic characteristics of teachers, gender variable did not affect their virtual classroom management competencies, but education level, branch, virtual classroom experience, seniority and the educational institution in which they work were found to affect their virtual classroom management competencies. Although teachers and school administrators consider teachers' virtual classroom management adequate, according to the results obtained from the qualitative findings of the study, teachers stated that they encountered many problems in virtual classrooms such as lack of or insufficient internet, connection problems, students not participating in the lesson, camera / microphone problems in home environment, and lack of technological tools. In order to overcome these difficulties, teachers used methods such as communicating with parents, informing them about virtual classroom practices, informing them about class times through social media tools, encouraging them with grades, and applying for peer help. In this direction, in order to improve teachers' virtual classroom management competencies, it can be suggested that in-service trainings should be provided by experts in the field, faster and more affordable internet service should be provided, and technological tools and equipment should be free of charge.