Online Graduate Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives from the Social Work Faculty in Turkey

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted all areas of life, and graduate education is no exception. Although prior research points to the effectiveness of delivering course content virtually, research on the effect of the unexpected and rapid nature of the transition from in-person to remote social work graduate education during the COVID-19 pandemic is limited. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted through an online open-ended survey in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using purposive sampling, 20 Social Work faculty members were selected from 8 universities in Turkey. An online research-made e-questionnaire with five main essay open-ended questions was used for data gathering. The data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results: In total, 20 social work faculty members aged 24 to 49 participated in this study. The faculty perspective on the students’ online experience during the pandemic highlighted challenges faced by students, such as technical issues, communication difficulties, decreased engagement, and limited participation in school work. Faculty also observed students struggling with mental health, family issues, and pandemic-related financial difficulties. Moreover, faculty noted limitations in their teaching methods, particularly the lack of interaction during lectures. However, faculty identified effective strategies for online teaching, including using a mix of asynchronous video lectures and live discussions, promoting independent student work, reducing course content, and modifying assignments. They also emphasized the benefits of minimizing reliance on traditional lectures and PowerPoint presentations, encouraging students to engage with and analyze information. Conclusion: Findings from this study point to the need for comprehensive institutional support to improve distance learning, including attending to students’ social-emotional learning and a focus on developing faculty skills at teaching in a virtual capacity and may improve how effectively social work programs deliver course content online. Both students and faculty prefer a hybrid approach combining in-person and online methods.

Keywords

• social work
• education
• remote education
• covid-19
• turkey