Examining self-directed learning skills of secondary school students in the distance education process

In this study, it was aimed to examine self-directed learning skills of secondary school students in the distance education process and to quantitatively determine the change in these skills in terms of gender, number of siblings receiving online education, grade level, family income level, and to qualitatively determine the reasons for this change and to interpret them in a holistic framework. In the first stage of the research, "Self-directed Learning Skills Scale in Distance Education" was developed for the self-directed learning skills of secondary school students in the distance education process. In the second stage of the research, the "Self-directed Learning Skills Scale in Distance Education" was applied and qualitative data were collected on the scale dimensions. The scale development process of the research was carried out with 226 secondary school students studying in 8 secondary schools in the central district of a province in the Central Anatolia Region in the 2021-2022 academic year. The quantitative application phase of the research was conducted with 758 secondary school students studying in 16 secondary schools, and the qualitative application phase was conducted with 16 secondary school students studying in 8 secondary schools. As a result of the analyses made during the scale development process, the scale structure consisted of 5 dimensions (factors) and 20 items. Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficients of the scale total score and sub-dimensions were calculated. The Cronbach Alpha value of the "Self-Directed Learning Skills Scale in Distance Education" calculated for the overall scale was found to be 0.868. In addition, Cronbach Alpha values for the dimensions of the scale are 0.775 for self-control skills, 0.767 for learning skills, 0.667 for metacognitive awareness skills, 0.645 for identifying resources and 0.623 for sustaining the desire to learn. In this context, it was seen that the "Self-Directed Learning Skills Scale in Distance Education" has sufficient reliability level for the dimensions and the overall scale. In the second stage of the study, the self-directed learning skills of secondary school students in the distance education process were analysed in terms of gender, grade level, number of siblings receiving online education and family income levels. It was determined that the self-directed learning skills of secondary school students in the distance education process did not create a significant difference in terms of gender, while there was a significant difference in the dimensions of metacognitive awareness skills, identifying resources and sustaining the desire to learn in terms of class level. It was seen that there was a significant difference in the self-directed learning skills levels of secondary school students in the distance education process according to the variable of the number of siblings receiving online education in the whole scale, in the metacognitive awareness skills dimension, in the dimension of identifying resources and in the dimension of sustaining the desire to learn. It was determined that there was a significant difference in the sub-dimension of sustaining the desire to learn according to the family income status variable of the self-directed learning skill levels of secondary school students in the distance education process. In the qualitative part of the research, a semi-structured interview form was prepared by the researcher in order to examine in depth the self-directed learning skills of secondary school students in the distance education process. The findings obtained were analysed with Maxqda software and consisted of the themes of learning skills, self-control skills, metacognitive awareness skills, sustaining the desire to learn and identifying learning resources. The quantitative and qualitative phases of the research have shown compatibility with each other, and the need to improve the self-directed learning skills of secondary school students in the distance education process has emerged.