Abstract Book of the 9th International Conference on New Approaches in Education
Year: 2025
[PDF]
Investigating the Attitudes towards Classroom Attendance in the Post-Earthquake Setting
Dr. Nazlı Ağgün Çelik
ABSTRACT:
Emergency remote learning had to be applied between 2020 and 2022 due to Covid-19 and 2023 and 2024 due to the Kahramanmaraş earthquake (in 2023). Both students and teachers in this setting had to abandon the formal classroom environment, in which classroom attendance was required. This study looked at teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards classroom attendance in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes after the earthquake. For this purpose, 200 students from different majors, such as maritime, aviation, or tourism, on one campus that takes place in the earthquake zone filled out anonymous surveys. All of these departments require students to have at least an intermediate level by the time they graduate, which means the students need to focus on these classes. SPSS analysis of the surveys revealed that students associate classroom attendance with success. They also believed that online classes could be beneficial for revising their classes. Qualitative data on faculty members’ attitudes towards attendance policies from the school of foreign language is also analysed. Ten faculty members completed the form, which included semi-structured questions. The content analysis of their responses revealed that almost all of the faculty members desired to implement an attendance policy in their courses. They believed that implementing an attendance policy resulted in improved student grades and participation in class, both of which are critical components of foreign language success. Similarly, online instruction can only supplement their instruction; it cannot replace physical classroom attendance. This research is significant in terms of understanding whether classroom attendance is still important and determining the best policy to apply to face-to-face and online modes in modern EFL classes.
Keywords: classroom attendance, English as a foreign language, the attitudes of the students and faculty members, attendance policy, post-earthquake setting