Metaphorical Perceptions of Pre-Service Special Education Teachers Towards Distance Education During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

Abstract

Education is one of the most affected areas in the crisis environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Emergency remote education has been adopted to ensure the sustainability of education, which was interrupted by the closure of educational institutions. The transition has also impacted higher education students as well as primary and secondary education students. In this regard, the study aims to examine the perceptions of distance education of higher education students continuing their education in the field of special education during the COVID-19 pandemic through metaphor analysis within the scope of the qualitative phenomenology method. The study participants consisted of 185 associate, undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students. In the data collection process, the researchers prepared an online form and asked the participants to complete the statement, “Distance education is like ... because ...”. According to the results obtained by content analysis, the participants produced 137 positive and 142 negative metaphors. Among the positive metaphors, the themes of “usability,” “flexibility,” “student participation,” and “suitability” were obtained, while the themes of “teaching process,” “interaction,” “usability,” “student status,” and “assessment and evaluation” were obtained among the negative metaphors. While students thought that the resources offered in distance education for the acquisition of new knowledge were very diverse and comprehensive, they criticized the teaching process for being artificial and non-interactive.