EXAMINATION OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS’ OPINIONS AND MOTIVATION LEVELS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

. The research aims to examine the views and motivation levels of physical education and sport teachers in the western Black Sea Region during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigate their differences in terms of various variables. The study group of the research consists of 300 participants. Considering the results, it was determined that female teachers and teachers in the older age group had higher levels of emotion, thought and behaviour regarding COVID-19. However, taking into account the School type variable and the teachers’ COVID-19 transmission status and opinions about COVID-19, there was no significant difference between them, but there were significant differences between the provinces where they lived and their views of COVID-19. As data collection tools, the Multi-Dimensional COVID-19 Scale and the Teacher Professional Motivation Scale were used. To analyse the obtained data, the SPSS 26 program was used. In the statistical analyses, the normal distribution test and the descriptive statistics test were applied to the data and, according to the obtained normality test results, the Independent Samples t Test and ANOVA were applied for variables consisting of two different groups. Moreover, the Tukey test was applied to determine differences between variables. The results were assessed at p < 0.05. No significant difference was found between gender, age and motivation levels, while the province and school type had a significant effect on teachers’ motivation levels. In addition, some suggestions were developed for the results obtained in the research.


Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world and deeply affected sectors such as today's education, services and research; due to its rapid spread between continents, the countries of the world have taken different measures to combat it (DeVaney et al., 2020).
First of all, these measures, which are applied to protect human health, impose curfew and travel restrictions, restrictions in educational activities and quarantine (Yılmaz, 2020).Such measures taken during the pandemic are known to prevent many risks in terms of human health but affect people psychologically (Brooks et al., 2020).How this psychological state that has emerged with the pandemic is managed and how individuals deal with their emotions in such situations are important issues for social psychology (Beck et al., 1992).In addition to the health and psychological impact of the pandemic on society, there are also negative effects on education and training.Education has undoubtedly been affected by the pandemic; thus, according to the United Nations (2020) reports, many students and teachers around the world have been affected by school interruption due to the pandemic.The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our perspective on education and our way of interpreting education (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2020).Teachers who continue their activity through distance education are believed to assume more tasks and responsibilities in the new process; it has also been emphasised that this process affects teachers and changes their feelings and thoughts (Demir & Özdaş, 2020).Studies regarding the effects of the pandemic on teachers highlight that COVID-19 has increased their depression and anxiety levels and caused many negativities in their social lives (Çiçek et al., 2020).In addition, individuals who do not feel psychological wellbeing begin to think negatively about their present and future, question their lives and fall into despair (which can also reduce their motivation).In this context, it is important to determine the feelings, emotions, thoughts and behaviours of teachers who fulfil their duties through distance education and training during the pandemic, as well as their motivation levels (Ersoy, 2016).Furthermore, determining teachers' views of the pandemic and their effects on personal motivations can guide them in making decisions about their future.In this regard, several studies on the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and motivation have been identified in both domestic and foreign literature (Akbaș Tuna & Turkmendag, 2020;Pânișoară et al., 2020).
Considering teachers' feelings, thoughts and behaviours, which are of universal importance for education during the COVID-19 pandemic, the present study aimed to identify both the opinions about COVID-19 and the motivation levels of physical education and sport (PES) teachers.For this purpose, we have tried to answer the following questions: -Is there a significant difference between the opinions about COVID-19 and the motivations of PES teachers, considering the Gender variable?-Is there a significant difference between the opinions about COVID-19 and the motivations of PES teachers, considering the Age variable?-Is there a significant difference between the opinions about COVID-19 and the motivations of PES teachers, considering the School type variable?-Is there a significant difference between the opinions about COVID-19 and the motivations of PES teachers, considering the Province variable?-Is there a significant difference between the opinions about COVID-19 and the motivations of PES teachers, considering whether or not they had been infected with COVID-19?

Participants and Procedure
The study group of the research consists of physical education and sport teachers working in private and public schools in the western Black Sea Region, provinces of Bartın, Bolu, Duzce, Kastamonu, Karabuk and Zonguldak.Simple random sampling method was used to determine the study sample and Sample Size Calculation was used to determine the sample size (Raosoft, 2004).The study was conducted with 300 individuals, and data were collected from each participant through the online survey method.A Questionnaire Form was created in the computer program and distributed to volunteer participants, who were asked to complete it.Demographic information about the research participants is shown in Table 1.

Instruments
A Personal Information Form consisting of five questions measured on a 5-point Likert scale was used, in which participants were asked about their gender, age, school name, province where they worked and whether they had been infected with COVID-19.The 3factor Multi-Dimensional COVID-19 Scale (Batıgün & Ertürk, 2020) and the 4-factor Teacher Professional Motivation Scale (Karabağ Köse et al., 2021) were also used.

Methods
The survey method was used to conduct the research.The Scanning Model is a method aimed at determining participants' interests in, opinions about and attitudes towards an event or subject, which is based on collecting purposeful information from a large audience (Büyüköztürk et al., 2013).

Data analysis
SPSS 26 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) was used for data analysis, and participants' responses were entered into the SPSS program by the researcher after data collection.The normal distribution test and the descriptive statistics test were applied to the data, and as a result of being suitable for normal distribution, the One-Way ANOVA test and Independent Samples t Test were used.After applying the ANOVA test for the variables consisting of two different groups, the Tukey post-hoc test was applied to determine differences between variables.

Table 2. T Test results for the Multi-Dimensional COVID-19 Scale sub-dimensions by gender
According to the Multi-Dimensional COVID-19 Scale sub-dimensions (Table 2) and the t Test results regarding the gender of teachers, significant differences were emphasised for the following sub-dimensions: "Emotions and behaviours related to COVID-19" (p = 0.001, t = 3.22), "Thoughts about COVID-19" (p = 0.039, t = 2.071) and "Measures taken against COVID-19" (p = 0.001, t = 3.24).For the three factors, a significant difference was found at the p < 0.05 significance level as regards the Gender variable.In this case, the level of female teachers' participation in the opinions about their feelings, behaviours, thoughts and precautions regarding COVID-19 was higher than that of male teachers.

Table 3. T Test results for the Teacher Professional Motivation Scale sub-dimensions by gender
No significant difference was found for the following sub-dimensions of the Teacher Professional Motivation Scale: "Physical factors", "In-school factors" and "Professional development and prestige", considering the gender of teachers (Table 3).It was determined that there was a significant difference for the "Out-of-school factors" sub-dimension, with reference to the same Gender variable (p = 0.033, t = 2.14).Accordingly, the level of female teachers' participation in the opinions about "Out-of-school factors" was higher than that of male teachers.According to the t Test results for the Multi-Dimensional COVID-19 Scale subdimensions (Table 4) and the teachers' School type variable, no significant difference was found at the p > 0.05 significance level.According to the t Test results for the Teacher Professional Motivation Scale subdimensions (Table 5) and the variables related to the type of school where the respondents worked, the following sub-dimensions: "Physical factors" (p = .01,t = 2.49), "In-school factors" (p = .01,t = 2.46) and "Out-of-school factors" (p = .04,t = 2.03) were found to be significantly different with respect to the type of school where the teachers were employed.In this case, the level of participation of lower secondary school teachers in the opinions about "Physical factors", "In-school factors" and "Out-of-school factors" was higher than that of high school teachers.According to the t Test results for the Multi-Dimensional COVID-19 Scale subdimensions (Table 6) and the COVID-19 Infection/Non-infection variable, no significant difference was found between the two groups (at the p > 0.05 significance level).According to the results for the Teacher Professional Motivation Scale sub-dimensions (Table 7) and the situation of teachers having contracted COVID-19, no significant difference was found between groups (at the p > 0.05 significance level).According to the Multi-Dimensional COVID-19 Scale sub-dimensions (Table 8) and the ANOVA and Tukey test results regarding the Age variable, no significant difference was found for the "Feelings and behaviours related to COVID-19" and "Thoughts about COVID-19" sub-dimensions, taking into account the age of the teachers (p > 0.05).In terms of precautions taken against COVID-19, there was a significant difference between participants depending on their age (p = 0.006).The age groups that recorded a significant difference were between "41-60 and 24-35 years" and "41-60 and 36-40 years".In this case, it was determined that the average of measures taken against COVID-19 by the teachers aged 41-60 was higher than the average of measures taken by the teachers aged 36-40 and 24-35 years.According to the results for the Teacher Professional Motivation Scale sub-dimensions (Table 9) and the ANOVA and Tukey tests, there were no significant differences (p > 0.05) based on the age groups of the surveyed teachers.According to the ANOVA and Tukey test results for the Multi-Dimensional COVID-19 Scale sub-dimensions (Table 10) and the Province variable, the following sub-dimensions recorded significant differences: "Feelings and behaviours related to COVID-19" (p = .036),"Thoughts about COVID-19" (p = .019)and "Measures taken against COVID-19" (p = .00),depending on the province where the teachers worked.According to the ANOVA and Tukey test results for the Teacher Professional Motivation Scale (Table 11) and the province where the teachers worked, a significant difference was noted for two sub-dimensions, "Physical factors" (p = .010)and "Professional development and prestige" (p = .00),depending on the province where they carried out their activity.

Discussion and Conclusion
According to the research findings, it was determined that female physical education and sport teachers had a higher level of participation in the opinions about the pandemic and were more psychologically affected than male teachers.The findings suggested that female physical education and sport teachers took the situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic more seriously than male teachers, the impact being greater on them as regards the following sub-dimensions: "Feelings and behaviours related to COVID-19", "Thoughts about COVID-19" and "Measures taken against COVID-19".
Female physical education and sport teachers thought that the pandemic affected their lives more and took more precautions against the spread of the virus.On the other hand, no significant difference in motivation was found for the Gender variable (only the "Out-ofschool factors" was significant).When examining the literature, a study conducted by Yorguner et al. (2021) on university students was identified, where the authors stated that the opinions of female students about COVID-19 were more frequent than those of male students and that female students were more concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic; it was also emphasised that stress levels were higher for them during the pandemic.As a result, it can be stated that female physical education and sport teachers expressed much more frequently their opinions, thoughts and behaviours regarding COVID-19 during the pandemic than male teachers.
The motivations of physical education and sport teachers were also examined, considering the Age variable.No significant difference was found for the "Feelings and behaviours related to COVID-19" and "Thoughts about COVID-19" sub-dimensions.Regarding the measures taken against COVID-19 by the investigated teachers, there was a significant difference between participants; thus, the average of measures taken against COVID-19 by the teachers aged 41-60 was higher than the average of measures taken by the teachers aged 36-40 and 24-35.According to the study data, physical education and sport teachers between the ages of 41-60 take significantly more precautions against COVID-19, such as cleanliness, social distancing and social isolation, compared to teachers in other age groups.With increasing age, people's exposure to disease also increases and consequently they are worried about this risk (Li et al., 2020).No significant differences between the Teacher Professional Motivation Scale sub-dimensions were found in terms of age of the teachers.However, teachers in the 41-60 age group were more motivated than others.This situation can be explained as follows: older teachers act more rationally, the anxiety related to disease exposure and the fact that they are in the risk group due to age cause their level of opinion about COVID-19 to be higher, and therefore their motivation is also higher.
It was found that the motivations of physical education and sport teachers working in lower secondary schools during the COVID-19 pandemic was higher than those of teachers working in high schools.In the research conducted by Karadeniz and Zabci (2020) on teachers during the pandemic period, the authors state that kindergarten teachers are more motivated than high school teachers due to their good communication with and attachment to students.It seems that the type of school in which physical education and sport teachers work is among the factors affecting their motivation levels (further studies are needed in Turkey and not only to confirm or deny these findings).
When examining the opinions and motivations of physical education and sport teachers, no significant difference was found for the Infection/Non-infection variable.However, when the average values were examined, it was determined that physical education and sport teachers who had been infected with COVID-19 perceived the pandemic as affecting their lives at a higher level compared to teachers who had not been infected with COVID-19.According to Dundar (2016), there are always reasons that cause anxiety, stress, fear, but this situation can be turned into motivation and an opportunity for happiness.
Data analysis also emphasises that significant differences exist between the provinces where physical education and sport teachers work, in terms of their views and motivation levels.The level of opinion about COVID-19 in Zonguldak province was found to be higher than in Bartın, Kastamonu and Duzce provinces.According to this, physical education and sport teachers working in Zonguldak province have feelings and behaviours such as anxiety, sadness and fear as a result of following the news and frequently checking information about COVID-19, compared to physical education and sport teachers in other provinces (with a significant difference).It has been determined that their level of taking precautions is also (significantly) higher.A similar result was found between the provinces of Bolu and Duzce.Therefore, it has been determined that physical education and sport teachers working in Bolu province have a higher level of opinion about COVID-19.The reason for this is that the number of cases and the rate of spread in Bolu were higher than in Duzce.
According to another analysis, significant differences were found between the motivations of physical education and sport teachers with respect to the provinces where they worked.Considering the "Professional development and prestige" sub-dimension of physical education and sport teachers living in Karabuk, their thoughts about the love for the profession and the prestige of the profession as well as their openness to development are at a higher level compared to PES teachers from the provinces of Bartın, Bolu and Kastamonu.

Table 1 .
Demographic information about the research participants

Table 4 .
T Test results for the Multi-Dimensional COVID-19 Scale sub-dimensions by school type

Table 5 .
T Test results for the Teacher Professional Motivation Scale sub-dimensions by school type

Table 6 .
T Test results for the Multi-Dimensional COVID-19 Scale sub-dimensions according to the cases of contracting COVID-19

Table 7 .
T Test results for the Teacher Professional Motivation Scale sub-dimensions according to the cases of contracting COVID-19

Table 8 .
ANOVA and Tukey test results for the Multi-Dimensional COVID-19 Scale subdimensions by Age variable

Table 9 .
ANOVA and Tukey test results for the Teacher Professional Motivation Scale subdimensions by Age variable

Table 10 .
ANOVA and Tukey test results for the Multi-Dimensional COVID-19 Scale subdimensions according to the Province variable

Table 11 .
ANOVA and Tukey test results for the Teacher Professional Motivation Scale subdimensions according to the Province variable