Challenges of higher education institutions against COVID-19: The case of Turkey

Abstract

The global COVID-19 outbreak has caused an anxious situation in every part of society and forced many countries to implement distance education programs without even knowing the fundamental components involved in the processes and the consequences of their decisions. Likewise, in Turkey, it is still uncertain as to what will be taught, what instructional technologies will be employed, how infrastructural inequalities will be addressed, and how assessment and evaluation activities will be conducted. In this context, the purpose of this study was (a) to examine the experiences and opinions of academics, Distance Education Center managers, students, and parents and (b) offer solutions to emerging issues. In doing so, a qualitative research approach was employed, and the study was designed as a phenomenology. The data were collected from 175 individuals from 20 universities through Google Forms. The second cycle coding methods were employed in the analysis. The results indicated that COVID-19 had mostly psychological effects on individuals, and it affected every level of education at varying degrees. The pandemic reminded us how hopelessly we are dependent on traditional means of instruction by rendering us unable to use them. Since the beginning of the outbreak, many higher education institutions have been trying to implement distance education; however, the quality of instruction is rather questionable. This situation threatens the quality of learning outcomes and if not approached with due diligence, results could be catastrophic. Also, this mandatory transition to distance education has made the difference between the experienced and inexperienced academics more apparent. In light of the results, recommendations were provided for national and international policymakers. As long as the recommendations were implemented, all higher education stakeholders could attain the required knowledge and skills, and, in return, the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic could be alleviated.

Challenges of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic encountered by students in Pakistan

“…The unexpected change to online learning became a measure of organizational agility (Wu, 2020), with several academic institutions primarily focused on the transfer of educational content to the digital world and not specifically on online teaching and delivery methods. Nonetheless, it was a reminder of the lack of resources in academic institutions and the social marginalization of students, where insufficient access and availability of the internet and the lack of latest technology affected organizational responsiveness and students' capacity to participate in digital learning (Karademir et al, 2020;Zhong, 2020). Lack of proper interaction with instructors is another major concern associated with online learning.…”

Comparison of Hub and Home Mode Learning: An Action Research from Philippines

“…This issue was similar in the scenarios of the Sri Lankan universities (Habaragoda, 2020). Karademir et al (2020) criticized that Turkey's readiness to distance education was premature because of its inaccessibility to students who cannot afford to attend online learning. Hence, the issue encountered by MCC was likewise encountered by some higher educational institutions (HEI's).…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic was announced by World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020 (WHO, 2020). As response to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, most Asian countries declared lockdown on March 16, 2020 (Balakrishnan, 2020;Bozkurt et al, 2020), and shifted their paradigm from face-to-face to distance learning or remote learning to secure the health of the students as well as the teachers (Almazova et al, 2020;Balakrishnan, 2020;Bozkurt et al, 2020;Ghazi-Saidi et al, 2020;Goncalves, 2020;Habaragoda, 2020;Karademir et al, 2020;Mukherjee & Hasan, 2020;& Refaat El Said, 2020). The Philippines as one of the Southeast Asian countries recorded its first COVID-19 cases on March 6, 2020, and to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19, the Philippine government suspended the classes at all levels in the National Capital Region on March 9, 2020 and later extended the suspension of classes in entire island of Luzon by declaring Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) or lockdown until April 14, 2020 (Bozkurt et al, 2020).…”

“…Thus, it has been concluded in this study that the preparedness of Portugal about distance learning was immature because of lack equipment and skill resources. Karademir et al (2020) mentioned that Turkey's distance learning or online learning response to COVID-19 pandemic was not sufficient to maintain the quality of education. In the study, they revealed that the implementation of distance education in Turkey suffered from infrastructural and psychological issues.…”

Mathematics teachers views on distance education and their beliefs about integrating computer technology in mathematics courses

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, applications developed for distance education are forms of new technology for many teachers. Therefore, studying teachers' views and beliefs on distance education has become the main subject for many researchers, especially in the last two years (Karademir et al, 2020;Klapproth et al, 2020). In these studies, views and beliefs are often subject to analysis in terms of different variables.…”