Analyzing the Lived Experiences of Sports Science Professors from the Challenges and Achievements of Virtual Education during Covid-19 Pandemic

Given the widespread use of virtual education in the universities, the need to maintain education in the form of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic as an alternative to in-person education, as well as the use of the experiences and perspectives of professors to improve the quality and quantity of e-learning in the future, has led to a study entitled "exploring the experiences of sports science professors with the challenges and achievements of virtual education during the coronavirus pandemic".

The study was descriptive phenomenological research with qualitative approach. Participants in the study were professors of sports science at Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University who were selected through a convenience sampling method. The participants’ contribution was preceded until the data collection was completed. In order to collect data, in-depth semi-structured interview was used and to analyze qualitative data Colaizzi's method was used.

Based on the analysis of participants' experiences, 5 main categories (inefficiency of teaching practical courses, lack of necessary virtual teaching infrastructure, the need to pay attention to teaching considerations, quality of evaluation and e-learning outcomes) and 26 sub-categories were identified.

According to the findings, it was found that e-learning of practical courses was not desirable; therefore, it is recommended that more sufficient alternative and complementary methods complying with the educational goals be applied alongside consideration of health care protocols.