Distance education perception of high school mathematics teachers and teachers' views on the applicability of distance education in teaching mathematics

In this research, it was aimed to determine the views of high school mathematics teachers about the perception of distance education and the applicability of distance education in teaching mathematics. In the study in which the mixed research method was used, the sample of the quantitative method consisted of 429 high school mathematics teachers working in public and private institutions and selected by simple random sampling method. The sample of the qualitative method was 45 high school mathematics teachers who were chosen voluntarily among the teachers participating in the quantitative method. "Distance Education Perception Scale" developed by Gök (2011) and semi-structured interview form were used as data collection tools in the research. Since the quantitative data collected within the scope of the research showed a normal distribution, they were analyzed with the t test and ANOVA. The Cronbach alpha internal consistency coefficient of the scale was found to be 0.91. These processes were carried out with a statistical package program. Qualitative data, on the other hand, were analyzed and organized by descriptive analysis method. According to the findings of the research the distance education perception levels of high school mathematics teachers were at a medium level. While there was a significant difference between the perception of distance education and gender, professional seniority, taking courses in distance education knowledge and proficiency level, no significant difference was found according to the variables of education level, type of institution and teaching in distance education. According to the gender variable, the perception of distance education of female teachers was higher than male teachers. The perception of distance education of teachers with a professional seniority of 1 to 5 years was higher than those of 11 to 15 years and 26 years and above. It was determined that the perception levels of teachers who took lessons as students in distance education were higher than those who did not take lessons with distance education. In addition, it was concluded that the perceptions of teachers with a distance education experience of 3 years or more were higher than those of teachers with 2 to 3 years of experience. When the distance education knowledge and competence perception levels of the teachers were examined, it was determined that the perception levels were between low and medium in favor of medium, between medium and high in favor of high, and between low and high in favor of high. When the opinions of the teachers about the applicability of distance education in mathematics teaching were examined, it was seen that the majority of the mathematics teachers participating in the study did not have any problems in using technological tools. It was determined that the positive aspects of giving the mathematics course with distance education were that more questions could be solved, access to visual materials was easier and it saved time. It was determined that there were problems such as lack of participation in the lesson, decreased attention and not getting feedback as negative sides. The teachers who participated in the study did not have any problems in adapting the mathematics curriculum to distance education, but they stated that the teaching materials suitable for the content of the mathematics course should be diversified. While applying distance education, they stated that the features that should be in the mathematics curriculum should support technology, be accessible, simple and interesting. In addition, it was concluded that teachers should use technology and adapt to innovations in distance education. Finally, the teachers stated that in order to increase the quality of face-to-face education after the pandemic process, distance education should be included in the process for question solution and course repetition. Keywords: Distance Education, Mathematics teaching, High school mathematics teachers, Distance mathematics teaching.