Examination of Distance Education in Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic from the Perspective of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Students: A Qualitative Study in Ankara Province COVID-19 Pandemisinde Uzaktan Eğitimin Yükseköğretimdeki Sosyoekonomik Açıdan Dezavantajlı Öğrenciler Açısından İncelenmesi: Ankara İlinde Nitel Bir Araştırma
Sosyoekonomi, cilt.34, sa.67, ss.465-490, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus, TRDizin)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 34 Sayı: 67
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.17233/sosyoekonomi.2026.01.20
- Dergi Adı: Sosyoekonomi
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.465-490
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Distance Education, Equality of Opportunity in Education, Higher Education, Social Policy, Socioeconomic Disadvantage
- Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This study examines the experiences of socioeconomically disadvantaged higher education students with distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic within the framework of educational equality of opportunity. In-depth interviews were conducted between January and March 2023 with 14 participants—children from families earning less than one-third of the minimum wage—who are undergraduate students at universities in Ankara Province. The collected data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that students faced multiple disadvantages stemming from digital inequalities, financial pressures, and psychosocial burdens. Participants experienced learning setbacks due to limited access to course materials, inadequate study environments, and insufficient digital resources. The pandemic exposed structural inequalities that persisted into the post-pandemic period amid ongoing digitalisation. Based on these findings, social policy recommendations have been developed to enhance equality of educational opportunity.