COVID-19 Experience of Higher Education Students in Urban and Rural Areas

Abstract

According to official statistics, there are approximately eight million higher education students in Turkey. In other words, one-eighth of Turkey's population continues to higher education in Turkey. In this study, the digital divide in distance education in terms of the physical and social environment of higher education students is discussed. When the first COVID-19 cases were recorded in Turkey in the second week of March 2020, formal education was immediately stopped with distance education until finishing 2020-2021 education year and 2021-2022 higher education year started with partly (approximately %40) distance education. This paper focusses on undergraduate (BA) and postgraduate students (both MA and PhD) from Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University (AYBU) in Turkey to compare the function of living in the urban area or rural area during the COVID-19 pandemic. After finishing literature review and getting ethical approval for collecting original data, Phone and Skype interviews between June and September 2020 has done with thirty-four students. Then, the datasets analyzed with the NVivo program with regards to emerged main themes (e.g., location, urban and rural areas, and distance education). In this study, students living in the city center stated that they experienced more psychological, social and economic difficulties in order to overcome this pandemic. Students who live in rural or suburban areas and can access educational materials and facilities with secure internet access have been found to be more independent, safe and productive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords

• covid-19
• home
• urban-rural areas
• higher education
• distance education