The purpose of this study is to examine the validity and reliability of the Distance Education Attitude Scale for Teachers, which was developed to reveal teachers’ attitudes towards distance education during the COVID-19 outbreak. Statistical analyses were performed on 458 of the collected forms. The study group was randomly divided into two and the EFA process was conducted with 205 participants and the CFA process with 253 participants. KMO and Bartlett tests were performed to determine the suitability of the data for EFA. The KMO value was 0.0885 and the Bartlett test was statistically significant (χ2=3141, df=703, p<0.001). EFA results show that the DEASFT structure consists of 21 items and two factors, and these factors are named as “Benefits of Distance Education” and “Limitations of Distance Education”. CFA was applied on the data of 253 different people to the factor structures obtained as a result of AFA Analyses. One item was dropped from the scale because p values (0.178) is bigger than 0.05. According to fit indices (χ²/df < 1.5, CFI=0.953 > 0.9, TLI=0.942 > 0.9, SRMR=0.0735 < 0.8, RMSEA=0.0427 < 0.05), the scale is validated. The final version of scale has two factors and 20 items. Cronbach Alpha and composite reliability coefficients were calculated for reliability. For factor 1 Cronbach α=0.847 and McDonald’s ω=0.836. For factor 2 Cronbach α=0.815 and McDonald’s ω=0.845. The results of the analysis show that the scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool for determining teachers’ attitudes towards distance education.

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The purpose of this study is to determine the general attitude levels of teachers towards distance education and whether the attitudes of teachers differ according to the district, education level, gender, institution type, graduation, experience year, and branch variables, as well as to seek answers to the questions of whether there is a relationship between the frequency of in-service training on distance education and the perception of technology competence of teachers and their attitudes. The sample of the study, which was carried out in the descriptive survey model, consists of 886 teachers working at primary, secondary, and high school levels, private and public schools in Gaziantep Şehitkamil, and Şahinbey districts in 2020-2021. The research used “Personal Information Form” and “Distance Education Attitude Scale towards Teachers” as data collection tools. The data were collected in the digital environment and the Jamovi (1.6.9) package program was used in the analysis of the obtained data. The study concluded that teachers' attitudes towards distance education were low, although close to the medium level. In addition, the variables of gender, district, and graduation status of teachers do not change the attitudes of teachers towards distance education, however, the type of institution (private / state), education level, experience year, branch, and in-service training related to distance education affect teachers’ attitudes towards distance education and have a decisive effect on their attitudes. The study results also showed a positive relationship between teachers’ perceptions of technological competence and their attitudes towards distance education. Creating supportive in-service training opportunities related to distance education for teachers can increase success in distance education and increasing the technological competence of teachers will facilitate them to have a positive attitude towards distance education. Developing distance education programs applied to younger age groups will increase primary school teachers’ negative attitudes towards distance education.

Comparison of Syrian and Turkish students' attitudes towards English teaching in terms of various variables examining school motivations of secondary school students. International Innovative Education Researcher, 2(2), 276-320.

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