Abstract:

Purpose: To examine the trends in theory-based graduate theses published between 2008-2020 in the field of distance education in Turkey. Methodology: In this study, which aims to examine theory-based graduate theses published in the field of distance education in Turkey between 2008-2020, systematic literature review was adopted and content analysis technique was used in the analysis of data. 483 theses with access permission in the Council of Higher Education (YOK) national database were examined and 150 theses that were suitable for the research criteria were included in the study. Theses were categorized using the "Thesis Review Form", which has different fields such as thesis type, thesis title, the year the thesis was published, the university where the thesis was published, the variables used in the theses, the science fields of the theses, the theory / model used in the theses, the sample level of the theses and the sample sizes. The data of 150 theses, which are theory-based, were analyzed with the descriptive content analysis technique. Findings: When the theses included in the study are examined, it has been determined that one of every three theses published in the field of distance education are based on theory. Considering the theoretical basis of the theses, it has been seen that the theories of Social Presence, ARCS Motivation and Interactional Distance were given the most place. While Anadolu University and Gazi University were the universities where the most theses were published, Computer Sciences emerged as the field where the most theses were published. It was seen that academic success and attitude were the most studied variables in the theses. It was concluded that the sample group studied in the theses mostly consisted of students studying at undergraduate and primary education level, and 31-100 participants were preferred more as the sample size. Highlights: In the study, 150 graduate theses published between 2008-2020 in the field of distance education in Turkey and meeting the research criteria were examined and it was determined that one of these three theses was theory-based. Since this number has been determined to be quite small, it is thought that the findings obtained from this study will be useful for a deeper understanding of the theses that have a theoretical basis in distance education, by providing suggestions for future research, and to contribute to the thesis work or research planned to be done in the future on this subject.

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