Analyzing the Lived Experiences of Students From Distance Education in Physical Education Lessons During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Phenomenological Study

Due to the pathogenic nature of the coronavirus, its transmission speed, and also the death percentage caused by this disease, epidemic precautions called "social distancing" or "physical distancing" were carried out in many communications, including the attendance of students at school (2). With the mindset of continuing education, many countries have rushed towards distance education using online platforms and various e-learning systems, which is truly student-centered learning. In this situation, when people are forced to quarantine at home, they will be under pressure in many ways and suffer from many problems, including weight gain, stature abnormalities, irregular sleep, stress and anxiety, and many other physical and psychological problems (9, 10). Meanwhile, children, adolescents, and young people are among the most vulnerable members of society, whose mental health is severely endangered (11). Physical education classes in schools have also been held virtually during this period. Since the process of conducting the class has been based on face-to-face training and the teachers have not been trained to teach this practical lesson virtually and online, and also, since the facilities needed to conduct the physical education classes have been estimated based on the face-to-face method, so investigation and evaluation of the problems and weaknesses as well as the advantages and strengths of the physical education distant learning method are important. Using the phenomenological approach and examining the lived experiences of students who have been the direct audience of virtual education can be beneficial in identifying these weaknesses and strengths, and providing solutions for improvement and modification of the distance education method. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the lived experiences of students during school closures due to the spread rate of the coronavirus. It is hoped that the results of this research can be useful in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of online physical education classes and improving the quality of distance education methods.

In this educational research, the qualitative method of the phenomenological type was used. The sample size is chosen based on category saturation that is sampling continues until the researchers find that by adding more sample size, new insights, and information are not added to the research) (17). Accordingly, the researchers in the current study reached the saturation of the category with a sample size of 30 people (female students of upper secondary education). To collect information, a semi-structured interview was used in this research, which included questions such as "What negative and unpleasant experiences have you had from attending distant physical education classes?", and "What positive and pleasant experiences have you had from attending distant physical education classes?”. To perform thematic analysis, all the conversations of the participants' interviews were recorded by permission and later transcribed by the researchers. The duration of the interview with each participant was 30 to 40 minutes. To analyze the data in this study the seven-step Colaizzi (1978) method was used including 1- reading the transcript to get familiar with the interview and understand it, 2- extracting the sentences from the transcript that directly pertain to the subject of study, 3- formulating the meaning(s), 4- dividing all meanings into categories or theme clusters, 5- defining all emergent themes in an exhaustive description, 6- describing the basic structure of the focal phenomena, and 7- return the results of the study to the participants to determine their accuracy (19).

The results of the current research were classified into 12 main themes by extracting the positive and negative lived experiences of upper secondary school students from participating in distant physical education classes. The main themes extracted from the interviews are based on the students' lived experiences of distant physical education classes. Positive experiences Facilitating the learning of motor skills Getting to know the concepts and applications of virtual space Reducing the stress caused by Corona No fear of negative evaluation Adherence and commitment to physical activity Promoting and spreading the concepts of health and hygiene Negative experiences Lack of pleasure, vitality, and motivation Lack of effective supervision of the teacher in the learning process Decreased social relationships Restrictions on doing personal and favorite sports activities Inactivity and activity with different intensities Psychological problems

Considering the high goals of the education system concerning the quality of learning, the psychological and social experiences of this era, the anxiety and stress caused by it in students, and their scientific and cultural growth in the framework of the education system, the present study aims to investigate this important issue in the critical period of the coronavirus outbreak. Corona has taken place at the country level with attention and focus on distant education and psychological pressures created on students and the challenges of their progress. The obtained results showed that facilitating the learning of motor skills, getting to know the concepts and applications of virtual space, reducing the stress caused by Corona, not being afraid of negative evaluation, adherence and commitment to physical activity, and promoting and spreading the concepts of health and hygiene are the main themes of positive experiences and lack of Enjoyment, vitality and motivation, lack of effective supervision of the teacher on the learning process, reduction of social relations, limitations in doing personal and favorite sports activities, inactivity and activity with different intensities and psychological problems were among the main themes of students' negative experiences from physical education lessons during the Corona era. Gaining the lived experiences of students in an era like the corona disease causes new theoretical and practical strategies and solutions to be monitored and tested in order not only to prevent a possible stagnation in this field but also to consider the necessity and importance of the body in daily personal and social life. The teaching and learning of physical education lessons should flourish more and be internalized by various individuals and institutions. The urgency and speed of action in converting face-to-face classes to virtual at first seemed difficult and an undesirable method that probably did not lead to good results; However, the results of this research showed that the virtual education method, despite the perceived harms and challenges, contained positive points to consider, such as facilitating learning, controlling the fear of negative evaluation, and spreading the concepts of health and hygiene. These issues, along with strengths such as saving time, reducing air pollution, protecting the environment, and access to high-level professors can create a clear vision of distant education even in non-pandemic times. On the other hand, the negative experiences of students can help find the weaknesses of distance education in the current way and provide solutions to overcome these weaknesses.