e-Kafkas Eğitim Araştırmaları Dergisi (Aug 2021)
Examining the Covid-19 Pandemic from the Perspectives of Adolescents and Existential Theory
Abstract
Although various studies have been carried out on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic process, which has been going on for about two years, on individuals, no study has been found in Turkey on how individuals in adolescence are affected by this process and what they experience. In this study, it is aimed to deal with the experiences of individuals in adolescence regarding the Covid-19 pandemic according to the existential approach. In line with the purpose, the model of the study was determined as a case study. The study group consists of 36 adolescent participants who continue their education at different grade levels in a metropolitan city in Turkey in the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. After obtaining the permission of the ethics committee for the research, a Semi-Structured Interview Form was used to collect data, and the interviews could be conducted face-to-face and/or online, taking into account the pandemic conditions. Content analysis method was used in the analysis of the data. According to the results obtained from the research, the participants' experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic were explained according to the themes of the four dimensions of individuals' existence (physical, social, personal and social). In the physical dimension, it was seen that there were reflections in terms of family, friends, relatives and social life in the physical and environmental, social dimension of the adolescents, anxiety, risk-taking and awareness in the personal dimension, and awareness of the values in the last dimension, the spiritual dimension. Considering that a change in one dimension may affect other dimensions, suggestions have been made for guidance and psychological counseling practices and researchers, especially for individuals in adolescence, where many changes are experienced.
