Examination of middle school teachers' metaverse awareness and attitudes in terms of different variables

This study aimed to determine middle school teachers' awareness of metaverse applications and their attitudes towards the use of metaverse in education. The study assessed the teachers' level of awareness of metaverse and their attitudes towards the educational use of these applications, and examined whether these differed across various variables. Furthermore, the teachers' opinions on these issues were collected. A mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, was employed. 205 middle school teachers participated in the quantitative dimension of the study, while 12 teachers participated in the qualitative dimension. Quantitative data were collected using the "Metaverse Scale" and the "Metaverse Use Attitude Scale," while qualitative data were collected using a semi-structured interview form. Descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, and ANOVA were used to analyze quantitative data. Content analysis was used for qualitative data analysis. The study concluded that teachers' awareness of metaverse was relatively high, and that there were significant differences in the satisfaction sub-dimension in terms of gender and in the overall scale in terms of the computer education variable. Furthermore, the study revealed that teachers' attitudes towards the educational use of Metaverse were at a moderate level, and that significant differences were observed in the "Perceived Benefit" sub-dimension and across the scale in terms of computer training, across the scale in terms of design training, and in the "Perceived Benefit," "Readiness," and across the scale in terms of developing digital materials in their lessons. The qualitative findings of the study showed that middle school teachers mainly perceived Metaverse as a virtual universe and a digital interaction space, and that their experience with the concept was quite limited. It was also revealed that teachers thought that Metaverse could provide accessibility and equal opportunities in education through virtual laboratories, virtual museums, and virtual classrooms; however, they exhibited a cautious approach to Metaverse due to possible negative aspects such as security, privacy, health risks, and weakening of classroom interaction in a pedagogical context. The study recommended that practical in-service training for teachers should be widespread in order to use Metaverse effectively and safely in education.