DETERMINING THE DISTANCE EDUCATION SATISFACTION OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Özet

The aim of this study is to determine the distance education satisfaction of students studying at a state university during the pandemic period and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of distance education from the students' perspective. This research, conducted with both qualitative and quantitative research designs using a concurrent nested mixed methods approach, aims to determine students' demographic information and satisfaction levels through quantitative methods and to identify students' views on the strengths and weaknesses of distance education through qualitative methods. According to the results of the satisfaction survey, it is observed that students' satisfaction is above average. However, it is concluded that the category with the highest satisfaction is accessibility, while the category with the lowest satisfaction is the learning management system used.  When examining the participants' views on the strengths of distance education, the results show that it allows the opportunity for reviewing the lessons, offers time independence, provides easy access, enables learning from home environment, and facilitates communication with the instructors. On the other hand, the participants mentioned internet access problems, technological equipment requirements, content-related issues, lack of motivation, communication gaps, and excessive exposure to technology as the weaknesses of distance education.