Investigation of Student Attitudes Towards Distance Education Applied in the Process of COVID-19 Pandemic in Higher Education Institutions: An Example of Nursing Department

Abstract

The research was carried out to evaluate the attitudes of undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students of nursing department towards distance education applied during the COVID-19 pandemic in higher education institutions. The study is a descriptive type of research. Students studying at Atatürk University Nursing Faculty 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade and Atatürk University Health Sciences Institute nursing graduate programs between 01.06.2021 and 01.07.2021 were included in the study. The study data were collected with a web-based Questionnaire, which includes the sociodemographic characteristics of the individuals, and the Attitude Scale towards Distance Education. The analysis of the data was performed with the SPSS program, with p≤0.05 considered statistically significant. It was determined that the scale score average of the students was 112.04±36.04. According to age groups, gender, education level, the difference between the groups in the Attitudes towards Distance Education Scale mean score is statistically significant for students aged 26 and over; male students; It has been determined that each upper education level has a higher scale score than the lower level. married students; It has been determined that the average score of the students who do not live in the city where they receive education is higher. When the scale score averages were examined according to the time spent on the internet during the COVID-19 process, the scale score average of the students who spent more than 6 hours on the internet was determined as the lowest. As a result of the study, it was revealed that the students exhibited positive attitudes towards distance education in nursing education.