University Students' Attitudes towards Distance and Hybrid Education after February 6, 2023 Earthquake in Türkiye

The aim of the mixed-method study is to examine the reactions and reflections of Turkish university students in response to the sudden shift to online and hybrid education due to the February 6, 2023, earthquake in Türkiye. The participants (N=352) were university students from a Turkish state university. 228 students were studying English in a one-year preparatory program, while the rest were students from the faculties of pedagogy (N= 61), literature (N=56), and science (N=7). Data were collected from an adapted questionnaire and a survey measuring students’ attitudes toward online and distant education after the earthquake. The Distance Education Evaluation Scale was used as a data collection tool. The scale items were analyzed through a Mann-Whitney U test, while for the analysis of the survey responses, content analysis and CLAN (Computerized Language Analysis) program were used. The findings indicated that university students had mostly unfavorable responses to the transition from face-to-face to online education after the devastating disaster. These reactions were primarily attributed to cognitive, psychological, and social factors. The male students, the 1st year prep program students, and the students who had been impacted by the earthquake had notably more pessimistic dispositions towards online education.