Examining the past of distance education and the views of faculty members on the present and future

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate faculty members' views on the current situation and future expectations about distance education after examining the historical development of distance education through the relevant literature. The phenomenology method, one of the qualitative research methods, was used for the study. 11 faculty members who taught via distance education at Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University during the Covid 19 pandemic participated in the research. Semi-structured interview questions were used as an instrument for data collection. Distance or face-to-face interviews were conducted with the participants for the research purpose. The interviews were analyzed using the content analysis technique. As a result of the analysis, opinions were grouped under six headings: Applications in Distance Education, Advantages of Distance Education, Useful Aspects of Distance Education, Problems in Distance Education, Requirements in Distance Education, and Its Future in Distance Education. It is recommended to support the advantages and useful aspects, meet the requirements, conduct research to solve the problems experienced and conduct studies to meet the expectations for the future.