Prospective Pre-School Teachers’ Distance Education Perspectives

Abstract

Background: Distance education is a science-based system that supports learner independence through technology. Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the distance education system according to the experiences of prospective teachers studying the preschool education curriculum. Methodology/Approach: The research was conducted with a phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods. In this research, the study group was formed by selecting a number of first, second and third grade students on the preschool education programme to represent the study universe, and the study group of the research was determined with the stratified sampling method of non-probability sampling. The research data were collected through focus group interviews using a telecommunication tool. The collected data were analysed using the content analysis method. Findings and Discussion: According to the research findings, the prospective preschool teachers stated that the distance education system had a positive effect on the learning process in terms of convenience, saving time and money, use of technology, and flexibility. The participants reported that the distance education system affected them positively in terms of use of technology, self-discovery, time saving, acquisition of research skills and motivation, whereas it affected them negatively with regard to inefficiency, lack of communication, internet problems, and deterioration in social skills.

Keywords

• distance education
• education system
• learning process
• preservice teacher
• professional development

References

1. Adnan, M., & Anwar, K. (2020). Online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Students' perspectives. Online Submission, 2(1), 45-51. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED606496.pdf
2. Ally, M. (2004). Foundations of educational theory for online learning. In A. Terry (Eds.), The theory and practice of online learning (pp. 3-31). Athabasca University Press.
3. Anderson, T., & Dron, J. (2011). Three generations of distance education pedagogy. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 12(3), 80-97. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v12i3.890CopiedAn error has occurred
4. Basilaia, G., & Kvavadze, D. (2020). Transition to online education in schools during a SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Georgia. Pedagogical Research, 5(4), 1-9. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1263561.pdf
5. Bircan, H., Eleroğlu, H., Arslan, R., & Ersoy, M. (2018). Cumhuriyet university students' perspective on lessons offered in distance education. Eurasian Journal of Researches in Social and Economics, 5(12), 91-100. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/612597
6. Bowling, A. (2002). Research methods in health: Investigating health and health services. McGraw-Hill House.
7. Bozkurt, A. (2017). The past, present and future of the distance education in Turkey. Journal of Open Education Applications and Research, 3(2), 85-124. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/403827
8. Bozkurt, A. (2020). The coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic process and education in the world after the pandemic evaluations towards: New normal and new education paradigm. Journal of Open Education Applications and Research, 6(3), 112-142. http://193.140.22.72/xmlui/handle/11421/25005

9. Büyüköztürk, Ş., Kılıç-Çakmak, E., Akgün, Ö. E., Karadeniz, Ş., & Demirel, F. (2012). Scientific research methods. Pegem Academy Publications.
10. Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage Publications.
11. Dawson, B. (2001). Probability & related topics for making inferences about data. In B. Dawson, & R. G. Trapp (Eds.), Basic & clinical biostatistics. Lange Medical Books/McGraw-Hill Medical Publishing Division.
12. Demirel, M., & Coşkun, Y. D. (2010). A study on the assessment of undergraduate students’ learning preference. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 4429-4435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.706
13. Ersoy, A. F. (2017). Phenomenology. In A. Saban, & A. Ersoy (Eds.), Qualitative research patterns in education. Anı Publishing.
14. Gliner, J. A., Morgan, G. A., & Leech, N. L. (2011). Research methods in applied settings: An integrated approach to design and analysis. Routledge.
15. Gökçe, O. (2006). Theoretical and practical information on content analysis. Siyasal Publishing.
16. Gordon, T. (2010). Effective teacher training. In Ş. Karakale (Eds.). Profil Publishing.
17. Graham, C. R., Allen, S., & Ure, D. (2003). Blended learning environments: A review of the research literature. Brigham Young University.
18. Händel, M., Stephan, M., Gläser-Zikuda, M., Kopp, B., Bedenlier, S., & Ziegler, A. (2020). Digital readiness and its effects on higher education students’ socio-emotional perceptions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 54(2), 267-280.. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2020.1846147
19. Harnar, M. A., Brown, S. W., & Mayall, H. J. (2000). Measuring the effect of distance education on the learning experience: Teaching accounting via PictureTel. International Journal of Instructional Media, 27(1), 37-50.
20. Hebebci, M. T., Bertiz, Y., & Alan, S. (2020). Investigation of views of students and teachers on distance education practices during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. International Journal of Technology in Education and Science, 4(4), 267-282. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1271267
21. Holmberg, B. (1987). Research review: The development of distance education research. American Journal of Distance Education, 1(3), 16-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923648709526594
22. Horzum, M. B., Özkaya, M., Demirci, M., & Alpaslan, M. (2013). Review of Turkish distance education research. Inonu University. Journal of the Faculty of Education, 14(2), 79-100. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.975.2254&rep=rep1&type=pdf
23. Hung, M. L. (2016). Teacher readiness for online learning: Scale development and teacher perceptions. Computers & Education, 94, 120-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2015.11.012
24. Johnson, N., Veletsianos, G., & Seaman, J. (2020). US faculty and administrators' experiences and approaches in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Online Learning, 24 (2), 6-21. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1260365.pdf
25. Karadag, E., Su, A., & Ergin-Kocaturk, H. (2021). Multi-level analyses of distance education capacity, faculty members’ adaptation, and indicators of student satisfaction in higher education during COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 18(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-021-00291-w
26. Karataş, S. (2003). Equality of face to face and distance learning experiment. Educational Sciences and Application, 2(3), 91-104. https://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=b80e525d-ba45-44af-ba92-64bdb3718a6c%40sessionmgr101
27. Karpenko, M. P. (2008). The emergence and development of distance education. Russian Education & Society, 50(3), 45-56. Doi:10.2753/RES1060-9393500304
28. Katzman, N. F., & Stanton, M. P. (2020). The integration of social emotional learning and cultural education into online distance learning curricula: Now imperative during the COVID-19 pandemic. Creative Education, 11(9), 1561-1571. Doi:10.4236/ce.2020.119114
29. Keskin, M., & Özer-Kaya, D. (2020). Evaluation of students’ feed backs on web-based distance education in the COVID-19 process. Izmir Katip Celebi University Faculty of Health Sciences Journal, 5(2), 59-67. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/articlefile/1196338
30. Koballa, T., Graber, W., Coleman, C., & Kemp, C. (2000). Prospective gymnasium teachers conceptions of chemistry learning and teaching. International Journal of Science Education, 22(2), 209-224. https://doi.org/10.1080/095006900289967
31. Koçoğlu, E., & Tekdal, D. (2020). Analysis of distance education activities conducted during COVID-19 pandemic. Educational Research and Reviews, 15(9), 536-543. Doi: 10.5897/ERR2020.4033
32. Kruszewska, A., Nazaruk, S., & Szewczyk, K. (2022). Polish teachers of early education in the face of distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic–the difficulties experienced and suggestions for the future. Education 3-13, 50(3), 304-315. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2020.1849346
33. Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage Publications.
34. Longhurst, R. (2003). Semi-structured interviews and focus groups. In N. Clifford, M. Cope, T. Gillespie, & S. French (Eds.), Key methods in geography (p. 117-132). SAGE Publications.
35. Machtmes, K., & Asher, J.W. (2000). A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of telecourses in distance education. The American Journal of Distance Education, 14(1), 27-46. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923640009527043
36. McBurnie, G. (2002). Globalization, GATS and transnational education. Educational Sciences in Theory and Practice, 2(1), 169- 190. https://research.monash.edu/en/publications/globalization-gats-and-transnational-education-original-spanish
37. Merriam, S. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Jossey-Bass.
38. Metin, A. E., Karaman, A., & Şaştım, Y. A. (2017). Student perspectives on distance education and the assessment of the efficiency of distance education English courses: Banaz vocational college. Karabük University Journal of Institute of Social Sciences, 7(2), 640-652. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/joiss/issue/32387/360205
39. Miles, M, B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Sage Publications.
40. Murphy, M. P. (2020). COVID-19 and emergency eLearning: Consequences of the securitization of higher education for postpandemic pedagogy. Contemporary Security Policy, 41(3), 492-505. https://doi.org/10.1080/13523260.2020.1761749
41. Nambiar, D. (2020). The impact of online learning during COVID-19: students’ and teachers’ perspective. The International Journal of Indian Psychology, 8(2), 783-793. Doi: 10.25215/0802.094
42. Nipper, S. (1989). Third generation distance learning and computer conferencing. In R. Mason, & A. Kaye (Eds.), Mindweave: Communication, computers and distance education. England Pergamon Press.
43. Paulsen, M. F. (2008). Cooperative online education. International Journal of Media, Technology and Lifelong Learning, 4(2), 1-20. https://journals.oslomet.no/index.php/seminar/article/view/2482/2382
44. Peters, O. (1994). Otto Peters on distance education: The industrialization of teaching and learning. In D. Keegan (Eds.). Psychology Press.
45. Pınar, M. A., & Dönel Akgül, G. (2020). The opinions of secondary school students about giving science courses with distance education during the covid-19 pandemic. Journal of Current Researches on Social Sciences, 10(2), 461-486. Doi: 10.26579/jocress.377
46. Robinson, H., Al-Freih, M., & Kilgore, W. (2020). Designing with care. The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology. 33(3), 99-108. Doi: 10.1108/IJILT-10-2019-0098
47. Saba, F. (2000). Research in distance education: A status report. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 1(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v1i1.4CopiedAn error has occurred
48. Sarıtaş, E., & Barutçu, S. (2020). Digital transformation in education and students' readiness to learn online: A research on Pamukkale university students in the period of pandemic. Journal of Internet Applications and Management, 11(1), 5-22. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1124968
49. Sepulveda-Escobar, P., & Morrison, A. (2020). Online teaching placement during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile: challenges and opportunities. European Journal of Teacher Education, 43(4), 587-607. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2020.1820981
50. Serçemeli, M., & Kurnaz, E. (2020). A research on students' perspectives to distance education and distance accounting education in the Covid-19 pandemia period. International Journal of Social Sciences Academic Researches, 4(1), 40-53. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1164104
51. Shearer, R. L., Aldemir, T., Hitchcock, J., Resig, J., Driver, J., & Kohler, M. (2020). What students want: A vision of a future online learning experience grounded in distance education theory. American Journal of Distance Education, 34(1), 36-52. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923647.2019.1706019
52. Shim, T. E., & Lee, S. Y. (2020). College students’ experience of emergency remote teaching due to COVID-19. Children and Youth Services Review, 119, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105578
53. Simonson, M. (1999). Equivalency theory and distance education. TechTrends, 43(5), 5-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02818157
54. Simonson, M., Schlosser, C., & Hanson, D. (1999). Theory and distance education: A new discussion. American Journal of Distance Education, 13(1), 60-75. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923649909527014
55. Taylor, J. C. (2002). Automating e-learning: The higher education revolution. In S. E. Schubert, B. Reusch, & N. Jesse (pp.64-82). Springer. Retrieved from https://subs.emis.de/LNI/Proceedings/Proceedings19/GI-Proceedings.19-5.pdf
56. Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills: Learning for life in our times. Jossey-Bass.
57. Turoff, M. (1997). Alternative futures for distance learning: The force and the darkside. Virtual Learning Environments and the Role of the Teacher. UNESCO/Open University. Retrieved from https://web.njit.edu/~turoff/Papers/darkaln.html
58. Ubon, A. N., & Kimble, C. (2002). Knowledge management in online distance education. 3rd International Conference Networked Learning Proceedings (pp. 465–473). University of Sheffield.
59. UNESCO (2020). COVID-19 Educational disruption and response. Retrieved from https://en.unesco.org/covid19
60. Valentine, D. (2002). Distance learning: Promises, problems, and possibilities. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 5(3), 1-11. https://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall53/valentine53.html
61. Vogt, W. P., Gardner, D. C., & Haeffele, L. M. (2012). When to use what research design. Guilford Press.
62. Wedemeyer, C. A. (1971). Trouble at castle perilous: Applying media and technology to instruction. Educational Technology, 11(7), 19-24. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44417707?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
63. Wedemeyer, C. A. (1973). Characteristics of open learning systems. Report of NAEB Advisory Committee on Open Learning Systems to NAEB Conference (New Orleans, Louisiana). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED099593.pdf
64. Wedemeyer, C. A. (2010). Learning at the back door: Reflections on nontraditional learning in the lifespan. The University of Wisconsin Press.