Views of Sports Sciences Students About Distance Education During Covid-19: SWOT Analysis

Abstract

This study, it is aimed to examine the views of the students of the Faculty of Sports Sciences on distance education with SWOT analysis and to evaluate the current circumstance. The phenomenology design was used in the study. The research group consisted of 62 students studying at Afyon Kocatepe University Faculty of Sport Sciences located in a town in the Aegean region in Turkey. In collecting the data, the personal information form created by the researchers and the semi-structured interview form was used, and the data obtained were analyzed by content analysis and descriptive analysis technique. As a result of the findings, it was seen that the views of the students studying in the field of sports sciences on the strengths of distance education provided the best conditions in the Covid-19 process, gained experience in synchronous-online courses and the online system, and to reinforce the knowledge by making use of projects and assignments. Views on the weaknesses of distance education were expressed as the inability of every student to benefit from the right to education under equal conditions, difficulties in accessing the internet, and lack of materials. Besides, the views on the opportunities of distance education were determined as good management of the process, planning the applied courses face-to-face, that is, choosing the hybrid system, motivating the students for the assignments and projects, and making up compensatory programs applied to solve the problems. Socialization of students, unsuitable working environment, anxiety, and negative views of the society towards the education system were recorded as threats and dangers.