Abstract:

The COVID-19 epidemic has had a devastating impact on human life across the world, and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a pandemic on March 11, 2020. This study aims to reveal teachers' opinions regarding online amateur piano education with preschool children during the pandemic and solutions to the problems encountered during the education process. This study is a case study, which is one of the qualitative research methods. The data in the study were obtained from semi-structured interviews with six teachers who conducted online amateur piano education to preschool children. NVivo 12 package program was used for the analysis of the obtained data. As a result of the analysis, codes, categories, and themes related to the subject were reached. Based on the study's results, it was determined that amateur piano education offered online can result in financial savings. In addition, it was stated that online education is advantageous in terms of efficient use of time and conducting lessons without interruption. On the other hand, it was determined that online education for preschool children is disadvantageous regarding connection and communication issues, difficulties in technical and musical practices, and distractions in the home environment. Additionally, while the majority of the study group's teachers preferred to conduct amateur piano lessons in-person, a single teacher stated that, while considering the students' unique peculiarities, the educational process could also be conducted online. The information obtained led to the conclusion that the course materials used in the face-to-face education model and the online amateur piano education for preschoolers were comparable. However, it was discovered that the two models differed in terms of lesson duration. Moreover, although it was stated in the research that online education has advantages in various aspects, it was concluded that the face-to-face education model is preferred more frequently because some students in the preschool period are not suitable for online education in terms of readiness.