COVID-19 and Primary School 1st Grade in Turkey: Starting Primary School in The Pandemic Based on Teachers' Views

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic initiated an extensive and sudden digital transformation in the education. Suddenly, an entire of students had to start managing and mastering with digital tools to participate in their compulsory basic education. In this study, starting primary school first grade remotely is examined according to teachers' views. The research method is qualitative phenomenology study. The study group consists of nine teachers determined by the maximum variation sampling method, which is one of the purposeful sampling types. Three of these teachers work in the village, three in the city center, and three in a private school. The data collected from teachers with the interview technique were analyzed using content analysis. According to the results of the research, teachers' views on remote teaching in the first grade of primary school were divided into two groups, positive and negative. While teachers have positive views in the parent participation, academic and convenience themes, they have negative views in the social, equal opportunity, psychology and academic themes. The experiences of teachers in the first grade of primary school show that first reading and writing can be achieved remotely. It is very important to reduce the social, psychological and equal opportunity problems.