Opinions of teachers on professional loss and gains during the pandemic

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the professional losses and gains of teachers who continue their teaching activities within the scope of emergency distance education during the pandemic. The study was carried out as phenomenological research, one of the qualitative research methods. The purposeful sampling method was used to determine the research sample, one of the non-random sampling methods. The research sample consists of 57 teachers who work in Afyonkarahisar city centre between 2022-2023. The data were collected with "Semi-Structured Interview Forms" prepared by the researchers and analysied through descriptive analysis, one of the qualitative data analysis methods. The findings show that the participants have some losses and gains in the cognitive development area, while they mostly have professional losses in the affective area. In this process, some teachers stated that they have losses regarding social development, while others emphasized that they have gains. In addition, the teachers stated that they have experienced some losses in their professional field knowledge, the methods and techniques they used in the learning environment, and the methods and techniques they used in the measurement-evaluation process. Finally, the participants stated that their technology and digital literacy skills have increased significantly during the pandemic. This shows that there are positive and negative changes in the professional skills and proficiency levels of teachers during the pandemic. As a result of the study, the studies to be carried out on the subject can be deepened by considering the teachers' areas of expertise separately.