Abstract:

From pre-school to university, the most important factor affecting students' learning and academic success is attendance. It is even more important in emergency remote teaching conditions that we are facing due to COVİD-19 pandemics. Many studies have been conducted on student attendance. These studies have revealed that student attendance is related to many variables. With the development of technology, the transition to distance education has started, and the unique features of this system also affect student attendance. This study aims to find the factors affecting student attendance in distance education. Fifteen prospective science teachers from different universities participated in this study, which was carried out with structured interview technique, one of the qualitative research methods. The student interview forms, which were examined with the content analysis method, revealed that the factors that affect attendance are categorized as internal and external factors. While internal factors are affective factors such as beliefs, interest/curiosity, and anxiety, cognitive factors such as personal gains, and physical factors such as personal health problems; external factors are instructors, course program, home environment, peer relations, and educational technology. Students with low SES are having difficulties to attend courses, especially ones that have school-aged siblings. These factors affect student attendance in distance education positively or negatively. There are suggestions for instructors, students, and parents in the study.

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