The Impacts of Covid 19: An Evaluation of Families’ Views on the Effects that Online Education Has on Students

Abstract

This study evaluates families’ views on the effect that online education during Covid 19 has had on students. A personal information form and families’ views on the primary school online education process, the advantages of online education for primary school students, the disadvantages of online education for primary school students, the person who is involved in the child's education during the online education phase and the motivation of primary school students receiving online education were obtained in this study. In line with this, the study was carried out as a content analysis with qualitative research patterns. The study group consisted of families of primary school students attending private school in North Cyprus during the 2019-2020 academic year. The criterion sampling method was used as a purposeful sampling method. The data of this study were collected using a semi-structured interview form. The obtained data were analysed with the content analysis method. The findings for the first subdimension of the study show that according to the demographic information (gender, age, level of education, occupation, economic situation, age and education level of children…etc.), the majority of participants were female, in the 30-34 age group, had an undergraduate education level, worked as teachers, were categorised as middle income, their children were aged 9 and they were in the 3rd grade. In terms of the second subdimension, according to the families’ opinions, the online education for their primary school students was not very efficient. In the findings of the third subdimension, it was determined that online education resulted in children withdrawing from education life. The fourth subdimension revealed parents’ views on lack of concentration, social skill delay and issues regarding the internet network when their children were receiving online education. The results for the fifth subdimension showed that mothers were most involved in taking responsibility in their child's education. According to the sixth subdimension, most of the children attending primary school experienced a decrease in their motivation. It is recommended that in order to increase the motivation of children, education should continue interactively by using methods of animation, video and simulation to enhance the attractiveness and efficiency of the lessons.