Access Opportunities of Earthquake Victims to Distance Education during the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused extensive changes in education, as in other fields, and the distance education system has been widely implemented as an alternative almost all over the world. However, these new conditions are not equal for everyone; the position of certain social groups has become more disadvantageous in this process. One of these groups is earthquake victims. This study aims to reveal the possibilities and practices of students who lost their homes due to an earthquake and lived in a container city during the pandemic to participate in distance education. The research was carried out in the province of Elazig, which experienced an earthquake in January 2020 and focuses on the access of students in primary and secondary school to distance education. A qualitative research method was adopted in this research, and interviews were conducted with 11 people who are teachers and parents of students. The findings revealed that students are in a disadvantageous position regarding physical access, ownership, skills, and usage opportunities in accessing the digital equipment and environments required by distance education. Students are mainly unable to access technological tools and the Internet. Students’ age, economic and cultural capital, inadequacies caused by physical access restrictions, and psychological, social, economic, and spatial problems triggered by earthquakes and pandemics have greatly restricted their ability and opportunities to access distance education. The study is essential in revealing that students’ multiple disadvantaged positions negatively affect their distance education participation.

Keywords:

Digital inequalities, Distance education, Covid-19 Pandemic, Earthquake victims Elazıg,

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