Satisfaction Levels of Social Studies Teacher Candidates with Regard to Distance Education

This study aimed to examine the satisfaction levels of pre-service social study teachers regarding distance education. Based on this purpose, survey and causal comparison models, which are among the quantitative research approaches, were preferred together. The study population consists of students in the Social Studies Teaching undergraduate program. The sample consisted of 238 pre-service Social Studies teachers studying in the Social Studies Teacher Education program at İnönü University, who were selected from the population using the simple random sampling method. The data of the study were obtained by using the "satisfaction scale" developed by Ilgaz (2008). The data collected with the satisfaction scale used to determine the satisfaction of pre-service social studies teachers with distance education were examined for normality before being analyzed. In this direction, skewness and kurtosis values were examined (Gürbüz & Şahin, 2017). It was determined that the skewness and kurtosis values obtained because of the analysis were within the "±1.5" range determined according to Tabachnick and Fidell (2013). The determined values show that the scale data meet the normal distribution criteria. Therefore, unrelated samples t-test and ANOVA, which are parametric tests, were used in the analysis because of the research, it was concluded that the satisfaction levels of pre-service teachers regarding distance education were high .


INTRODUCTION
Contrary to what is known today, distance education has a long history.In fact, the first distance education studies in the world date back to the 18th-century.From this point of view, looking at the historical development processes of distance education, it can be seen that the first distance education practices started through letters and newspapers.In fact, the concept of "distance education", which was the first to mention in the catalog of the USbased University of Wisconsin in 1892 (Rumble, 1986;Raymond, 2000), was the first to see on a note taken by William Lighty, the director of the same university, in 1906.In the following years, this concept was introduced in Germany and given the name of newly established distance education institutions in France (Verduin & Clark, 1994;Akyürek, 2020).Although some sources state that the first distance education practices in the world started with Teno lessons in Boston Newspaper in 1728 (Çoban, 2013;Akyürek, 2020), this process was initiated by Isaac Pitman in England in 1840 (Keegan, 1996;Kaya, 2002;Hüseyin & Kocasaraç, 2022;Uzaktan Eğitim Net, 2023).It is known that the advertisement of the Boston Gazette dated 1728 was a one-sided advertisement and there was no two-way communication.In addition, a similar advertisement was found in Sweden close to this date, and we observed that there was no mention of mutual communication or a practice for grading.On the other hand, Pitman, a stenographer, started teaching shorthand by letter in England and evaluated the success of students with grades during this teaching process (Kaya, 2002;Hüseyin & Kocasaraç, 2022;Uzaktan Eğitim net, 2023).In this respect, Pitman 's effort is considered a milestone for distance education.Ultimately, all these processes constitute the first steps toward the development of distance education and are of great importance in the beginning of this practice.
The first steps of distance education applications around the world were taken through newspapers and letters for nearly two centuries.In this context, the University Correspondence Collage and some commercial institutions began teaching by letter in 1843 (Akyürek, 2020).Then, in 1874, distance education studies began at Illinois Wesleyan University in the USA, and this was followed by a distance education school opened in Germany in 1884 to train university preparatory students.In 1898, a secondary school implementing a distance education program was established in Sweden (Hüseyin & Kocasaraç, 2022).In addition women were given "composition lessons by letter" in the 19thcentury.During these periods, many adults wanted to receive an education.However, they could not continue their education due to many factors such as location, age, and job.For this reason, Letter Teaching Universities were established and became widespread during these periods (Akyürek, 2020).In the 20th century, with the development of technology and the increase in human needs, new transformations in education began to be experienced, and distance education applications found wider spreading areas.In this context, at the beginning of the 20th century, in the 1920s, the first educational radio broadcasts by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) began in the USA (Gökbulut, 2021).Subsequently, broadcasts were not delayed in other countries, and in 1922, the UK, France, and the Soviet Union started similar remote radio broadcasts.In addition, since the 1930s, educational television broadcasts, especially in the USA, England, and Italy, have been included in distance education practices in a more comprehensive and planned manner (İşman, 1998;Uşun, 2006;Bates, 2015;Akyürek, 2020).
Distance education in Turkey was first discussed in 1927 at a meeting where educational problems were discussed, and it was thought that illiterate people would benefit from education in this way.However, this idea, which was planned as distance education by letter, could never be implemented (Alkan, 1987;Kaçan & Gelen, 2020).The fact that ninety percent of the people were illiterate and the lack of instructors had a great impact on the implementation of the idea of distance education in this period.Thus, the idea of distance education by letter, which was first proposed in 1927, remained an idea for a long time (Kaya & Odabaşı, 1996).However, in the second half of the 20th century, distance education studies were seriously valued in the Republic of Turkey, and in 1960, for the first time, the "Letter Teaching Center" was established within the Directorate of Statistics and Publication (Özarslan & Ozan, 2014).Thus, the idea of distance education, which continued as an idea for about half a century, entered a new phase from thought to practice with the establishment of distance education centers by letter.However, with the influence of technology in the following years, distance education practices in Turkey have been conducted in a more comprehensive and planned manner.Today, distance education activities in Turkey in many fields and levels are conducted in a multidimensional manner with the help of many technological devices such as radio, television, computer, mobile devices; TV channels, open education faculties, and EBA programs affiliated to the Ministry of National Education.
As a result, distance education in the 20th century, except for the last quarter of this century, has continued mainly through radio and television broadcasts with the influence of technological developments.Distance education has a long and comprehensive historical process.However, only some important points are summarized here.In this context, the development of distance education is also shown in Figure 1 (Distance education net, 2023): emerged as an alternative teaching method to formal education, sometimes as a supportive and sometimes as an alternative teaching method to formal education with technological devices and applications such as radio, television, computer, internet, mobile technologies, and Google, has been unstoppably included in our educational life since the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century.It is a fact that the pandemic (Covid 19), which we characterize as a great disaster, has had a great impact on the spread of distance education understanding in recent times, as well as technological progress.The pandemic, which emerged in China in 2019 and then spread almost all over the world, has led to changes in many routines in our daily lives.One of the most important areas affected by pandemic conditions is education.The higher risk of contamination in crowded environments has led to the closure of human-based activity areas such as educational environments, partially limiting their activities.This situation necessitated the transition to distance education applications worldwide.In fact, in a short time, educational institutions have shifted their educational activities from face-to-face environments to online education environments by determining the road maps of the transition to distance education.Thus, distance education applications have started to be used more frequently as an indispensable alternative, a supportive, and basic teaching method in education.
Undoubtedly, one of the biggest shares in the worldwide progress of distance education in a short time at the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century belongs to technological developments.As a matter of fact, with the inevitable inclusion of global communication networks and technological tools in our lives, the perception of distance between people and countries has been largely broken through communication tools (internet, TV, social media, etc.) and the perception of time and space has changed.Educational planners, who cannot remain indifferent to this rapid change, have created more modern, virtual educational environments by integrating mass media into educational environments.Among virtual education environments, the most popular one today is distance education applications in which individuals in different places are involved in education at the same time using technological devices.Distance education, which dates back to ancient times in the traditional sense but constantly changes and develops with technology, is gaining more and more place in educational activities every day depending on the development status and technological infrastructure of countries (Kaya, Özkul, & Kırbaç, 2021;Kırbaç, Kaya, & Özkul, 2023).In particular, the pandemic conditions experienced by the whole world and the major earthquakes experienced in our country have paved the way for a better understanding of the importance of distance education by directing face-to-face and in the same place educational activities toward the digital field.
Since the early ages, education has been continuing in limited spaces (schools, classrooms, homes, libraries, etc.) where students and teachers share the same physical (face-to-face) environment (Kırbaç, Kaya, & Özkul, 2023).However, with the inclusion of technology in our lives and many other factors, online or distance education applications have come to the fore.From this viewpoint, when we look at the definitions in the literature on distance education, which constitutes the main theme of our subject, we see that most of them converge on certain common points.In general terms, distance education refers to education that occurs when students and teachers are in physically separate environments (Akdemir, 2011).In Anadolu University Open Education resources, which have significantly contributed to the establishment and development of distance education in our country, distance education is described as "a contemporary application that enables students to learn by using communication technologies".Uşun (2006) defined distance education as "an up-to-date educational technology application in which sources and receivers are located in environments far from each other, individuality, flexibility and independence features, and communication and interaction are provided by technical means".It can also be defined as the distribution of instructional materials through both printed and electronic media, especially with the introduction of computers into the educational environment (Moore, 1990;Moore et al., 2010).According to Moore and Kearsley (2011), it can be described as a planned teaching activity in which communication is provided through technological tools and teaching occurs in different environments in addition to traditional educational activities.In general terms, distance education is an educational activity in which there is an organized educational plan, students and teachers are in different places, but face-to-face meetings are held when necessary (Gunawardena & McIsaac, 2001).In this respect, one of the most fundamental elements of distance education is the implementation of the learning and teaching process in different contexts (Yenilmez, Balbağ, & Turgut, 2017).In addition, when the literature on distance education is reviewed, it is seen that distance education is used together or synonymously with concepts such as "web-based education, internet-based learning, and e-learning" (Turgut & Yenilmez, 2011).
Looking at the position of distance education from past to present, distance education is generally considered as an alternative to face-to-face education, and this understanding continues.However, when we look at the studies in the literature, it is thought that distance education is a more effective model than face-to-face education (Simonson, Schlosser & Orellana, 2011) and can be used as an independent teaching model when necessary.
Distance education has the opportunity to reach people of all ages without time and space limitations and to perform educational activities.From this point of view, it provides equality of opportunity to many people without the chance of face-to-face education and provides individuals with lifelong learning opportunities due to its independence from time and space.In addition, the development of technological opportunities in the last century has increased the interest and need for distance education.In addition, natural disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the February 6 earthquake in Turkey reveal the importance of distance education.Education is one of the indispensable fields of endeavor for individuals and states.In this context, in today 's conditions, distance education is used in educational environments as an alternative or supportive element of face-to-face education under certain conditions.The importance of the research increases one more time at this point.
Today, the importance of distance education in educational environments is increasing.Accordingly, studies on distance education continue to increase daily.Based on this problem, the research was conducted to determine the satisfaction levels of Social Studies Teacher Candidates regarding distance education.It is thought to contribute to the field today, when distance education is included in every aspect of our lives.In this context, the literature examines teacher (Demir & Özdaş, 2020;Kurnaz, Kaynar, Barışık, & Doğrukök, 2020;Balaman & Tiryaki, 2021) and student views on distance education (Kırali & Alcı, 2016;Birişçi, 2013), problems experienced in distance education (Kürtüncü & Kurt, 2020;Saygı, 2021), and the general framework of distance education (Bozkurt, 2021;Devran & Elitaş, 2017;Kurtdaş, 2021).However, there is no research to date on the satisfaction levels of pre-service Social Studies teachers in distance education.From this point of view, the main problem of the study was determined as "the satisfaction levels of pre-service social studies teachers with distance education".Based on this main problem, the subproblems of the study are listed as follows:

Research Model
In the study, survey and causal comparison models, which are among the quantitative research approaches, were preferred.In studies using the survey model, it is aimed to collect data to determine certain characteristics of a group.The causal comparison model, on the other hand, aims to determine the causes and consequences of differences between groups of people without any intervention on conditions and participants (Büyüköztürk et al., 2023).In this context, this study determined the satisfaction of pre-service social study teachers regarding distance education.

Participants
The population of the research consisted of pre-service social studies teachers studying at İnönü University in the 2021-2022 academic year, while 238 pre-service teachers (169 female and 69 male) were determined as the sample of the study.While determining the sample, "Simple Random Sampling" method was used.Simple random sampling is a method in which selected units are sampled by giving each sampling unit an equal probability of selection (the selected unit is put back into the pool so that the probability of selection does not change for the remaining units) (Büyüköztürk et al., 2023).

Data Collection Tools
The first part of the measurement tool used in the study consists of demographic information about the participants.In the second part, the "Scale of Student Satisfaction in Distance Education" developed by Ilgaz (2008), consisting of 34 items and 6 dimensions, was used.

Student Satisfaction Scale in Distance Education:
This scale was developed by Ilgaz (2008) and consists of 34 items and 6 sub-dimensions.The Cronbach 's alpha reliability coefficient calculated because of the reliability studies of the original form of the 7-point Likert-type scale was determined to be ".96" and this value was calculated as ".96" in this study.The fact that the Cronbach 's alpha value obtained is in the range of.80-1.00shows that the scale used in the research is highly reliable (Kalaycı, 2017).
Demographic Information Questionnaire: The demographic information questionnaire was developed and used by the researchers, in which the participants ' information such as gender, class of study, place of residence, and preference for face-to-face/distance education was obtained.

Data Analysis
In this study, the normality of the data was examined before analyzing the data collected with the satisfaction scale used to determine the satisfaction of pre-service social studies teachers with distance education.In this direction, skewness and kurtosis values were examined (Gürbüz & Şahin, 2017).The skewness and kurtosis values obtained because of the analysis were determined to be within the "±1.5" range determined according to Tabachnick and Fidell (2013).The determined values show that the scale data meet the normal distribution criteria.Therefore, unrelated samples t-test and ANOVA, which are parametric tests, were used in the analysis

Ethical considerations
During this research, we paid scrupulous attention to ethical guidelines, ensuring that the integrity and reliability of the study were never compromised.
For the quantitative phase, data were meticulously harvested electronically, ensuring the privacy and anonymity of the respondents.The absence of demographic data collection further cemented this confidentiality.Moving on to the qualitative portion, every interviewee was formally apprized of the research 's objectives, methodologies, and potential implications.Importantly, they were reassured in writing about their right to withdraw from the study without any repercussions.All data acquired, including the interview tools and participants ' consent documents, were securely housed on the researcher's personal computer, fortified by stringent password protection measures.
In alignment with the overarching commitment to ethics, this study stringently adhered to all provisions delineated in the "Higher Education Institutions Scientific

Findings on pre-service social study teachers' satisfaction levels with distance education
The findings obtained because of the analysis conducted for the problem of "What is the level of satisfaction of pre-service social studies teachers regarding distance education?"are presented in Table 2:

Analysis findings of pre-service social study teachers' satisfaction levels with distance education according to gender
The findings obtained because of the analysis conducted for the problem of the study "Do the satisfaction of pre-service social studies teachers with distance education show a statistically significant difference according to gender?" are presented in Table 3:

Table 3
Data on the Gender Variable of Satisfaction Levels Regarding Distance Education Table 3 shows the results of the unrelated samples t-test conducted to determine whether the satisfaction levels of pre-service Social Studies teachers with distance education differ significantly according to gender.When the t-test data were examined, it was determined that the satisfaction levels of pre-service Social Studies teachers with distance education did not differ significantly according to the gender variable (t= -,632; p>,05).This situation was also realized on the basis of subdimensions.The findings obtained because of the analysis conducted for the problem of the study "Do the satisfaction of pre-service social studies teachers with distance education show a statistically significant difference according to the class of study?" are presented in Table 4: Table 4 shows the results of ANOVA to determine whether the satisfaction levels of pre-service social study teachers with distance education differ significantly according to the grade level variable.When the ANOVA data were utilized, it was determined that the satisfaction levels of pre-service social studies teachers with distance education differed significantly (F= 4,366; p<.05) according to the grade of education.A significant difference was observed between pre-service social study teachers studying in the second grade and those studying in the first and fourth grades.This result was found to be in favor of the first and fourth graders.The significant difference between the groups was also determined in the sub-dimensions of "Student-Student Interaction", "Student-Teacher Interaction", and "Online Courses".In the sub-dimensions of "Printed Materials", there was a significant difference only between second-year pre-service social study teachers and first-year preservice social study teachers.

Analysis findings of pre-service social study teachers' satisfaction levels with distance education according to their place of residence
The findings obtained because of the analysis conducted for the problem of the study "Do pre-service social studies teachers' satisfaction with distance education show a statistically significant difference according to the place of residence?"are presented in Table 5: Table 5 shows the results of the ANOVA conducted to determine whether the satisfaction levels of pre-service social studies teachers with distance education differ significantly according to the residential area variable.When the ANOVA data were analyzed, it was determined that the satisfaction levels of pre-service social studies teachers with distance education differed significantly (F= 1,390; p<.05) according to the place of residence variable.It is seen that a significant difference exists between pre-service social studies teachers whose place of residence is village and pre-service social studies teachers whose place of residence is district center.
The significant difference on the basis of sub-dimensions is between the pre-service social studies teachers whose settlement is a village and the pre-service social studies teachers whose settlement is a district center on the basis of "Student-Student Interaction", "Student-Teacher Interaction" and "Printed Materials" sub-dimensions.

Analysis findings of pre-service social study teachers' satisfaction levels with distance education according to their preference for face-to-face and distance education
The findings obtained because of the analysis conducted for the problem of the study "Do pre-service social studies teachers' satisfaction with distance education show a statistically significant difference according to their preference for distance and face-to-face education?"are presented in Table 6: Table 6 shows the results of the unrelated samples t-test conducted to determine whether the satisfaction levels of pre-service social studies teachers with distance education differ significantly according to the variable of preference for distance and face-to-face education.When the t-test data were examined, it was determined that the satisfaction levels of pre-service social studies teachers with distance education differed significantly according to the variable of preference for distance or face-to-face education (t= -4,589; p<.05).It was determined that the significant difference was high in favor of pre-service social study teachers who preferred distance education.This situation was also realized on the basis of subdimensions.

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMONDATIONS
In this study, which examined the satisfaction levels of pre-service Social Studies teachers with distance education, it was observed that the satisfaction levels of pre-service Social Studies teachers with distance education were at the level of "completely agree".This result shows that pre-service social studies teachers prefer distance education over face-toface education.In this respect, the results of the research reveal that pre-service social studies teachers prefer distance education to face-to-face education.
Social Studies is a curriculum that requires multiple and rich learning areas in terms of its content.In this context, it is important to determine whether Social Studies teaching, which is based on the richness of materials, active learning content by doing and experiencing instead of traditional knowledge transfer, and individual differences, has achieved its purpose in the distance education process.When evaluated within the historical development process, the direct addressee of distance education is the student.For this reason, to make a healthy determination, it is imperative to address the perceptions of prospective Social Studies teachers about distance education.As a matter of fact, many studies have been conducted on distance education in the field of social studies.However, these studies have mostly focused on the opinions of teachers and pre-service teachers, and there is no study on the relationship between distance education and pre-service teachers ' satisfaction levels.However, it is thought that there is a more linear relationship between distance education and students ' satisfaction levels in social studies teachings.In these studies (Yalman, 2013;Özkul, Kırbaç, & Kaya, 2021), no significant difference was found.In this respect, the research results revealed different results However, it is thought that there is a more linear relationship between distance education in social studies teaching and students ' satisfaction levels.
In this study, which examined the satisfaction levels of pre-service social studies teachers with distance education, it was observed that the satisfaction levels of pre-service teachers with distance education were at the level of "completely agree".When Social Studies teaching, which corresponds to multiple learning environments, is evaluated in detail in terms of the sub-dimensions of student-student interaction, student-teacher interaction, online courses, technical courses, printed materials, and face-to-face activities, it is observed that the satisfaction level of pre-service teachers is predominantly at the level of "completely agree".These data show that pre-service social studies teachers prefer distance education over face-to-face education.This result also indicates that pre-service Social Studies teachers are satisfied with the distance education process.There are also studies supporting this result Seyhan 's study titled "Distance education experiences and opinions of pre-service Social Studies teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic" (2021) reveals that the distance education process has advantages such as learning independent of time and space, research, reading, and developing learning skills.On the other hand, the same study also reveals that pre-service social studies teachers experience difficulties such as access to the internet, material supply, providing a learning environment, and learning difficulties.In fact, it can be stated that this difference is due to the individual differences and experiences of the sample in the two studies.
In addition to the views of pre-service Social Studies teachers on distance education, both positive and negative aspects of distance education have been revealed in many studies conducted on pre-service teachers and teachers in the Faculty of Education.In this regard, the COVID-19 process has served as an important educational laboratory for revealing the advantages and disadvantages of distance education for students and teachers.In this context, in the study by Kurtdaş (2021), some negative aspects of distance education due to the digitalization process were emphasized.In the study, these nativities are mostly focused on the loss of meaning and disappointment experienced by young individuals because of spatialization and damage to the sense of belonging, although university education is a way of life.In addition, it was concluded that distance education creates inequality of opportunity.On the other hand, the study also revealed many advantages of distance education.Controlling individual learning as opposed to mass learning, providing mobility by liberating individuals from time and space, the ability to watch video recordings again, and creating a comfort zone for individuals in terms of economics (accommodation, transportation, nutrition, etc.) are the reasons that make distance education desirable.In this context, these advantages are in parallel with the factors that increase the satisfaction levels of pre-service social studies teachers with distance education.
In the literature, studies revealing the positive and negative aspects of distance education aimed at social studies teachers have also been conducted (Özdoğan & Berkant, 2020;Yeşilyurt, 2021;Uyar, 2020;Korkut & Memişoğlu, 2021).In these studies, teachers stated that some problems arose in socialization and teacher-student communication, technical and infrastructure problems negatively affected students ' attendance, and the predominantly domestic environment made distance education difficult by preventing students ' mental motivation.These negative comments expressed by the teachers do not support the results obtained in this study.On the other hand, the Social Studies teachers ' statements that distance education saves time, provides a lifelong sustainable, flexible, and functional educational environment, and creates an economic comfort zone support the results of this study.In other words, it can be argued that these factors also determine preservice teachers ' satisfaction levels with distance education.
The second sub-problem examined within the scope of the research is the variable "whether the satisfaction levels of pre-service Social Studies teachers with distance education differ according to gender".The results of the analysis conducted in this context showed that the satisfaction levels of pre-service Social Studies teachers regarding distance education did not differ significantly according to gender.This result can be considered positive in the sense that there is no difference in the use of computers and technological tools according to gender.This result obtained in the research overlaps with the result of the study by Krali and Alc (2016).However, it is a wrong attitude to see distance education only as the use of computers and technological tools.In this context, the study also reveals that self-study and learning motivation, i.e., self-directed learning skills, do not change depending on gender.The lack of gender differentiation in this regard is a desired and necessary result.However, some studies have found that this idea is not supported.For example, in the studies conducted by Başar, Arslan, Günsel, and Akpnar in 2019 and Graham and Jones in 2011, it was observed that while men had a more positive attitude toward distance education, women were more distant.This result can be interpreted as a form of inequality caused by gender roles.In fact, the upbringing of women as limited to the domestic sphere and men as free in the public sphere may reveal a differentiation, especially in the use of computers and technological tools.However, the fact that the satisfaction levels of pre-service teachers in the study did not differ according to the gender variable is a positive result when evaluated in the context of gender.
The third sub-problem addressed in the research is to examine the satisfaction levels of pre-service social study teachers with distance education according to the grade of education.In this context, when the results of the analysis were examined, it was determined that the satisfaction levels of pre-service Social Studies teachers regarding distance education showed a significant difference according to the grade of education variable.A significant difference was found between pre-service Social Studies teachers studying in the second grade and pre-service Social Studies teachers studying in the first and fourth grades.
The research data obtained in this regard indicate that the satisfaction levels of pre-service teachers in the first and fourth grades regarding distance education are higher than those in the second grade.This result is meaningful in the context that the sample consists of university students in general and Faculty of Education students in particular.As a matter of fact, university students enter a new and different environment from their family the first year.Therefore, they have a more distant attitude toward university life.For example, while they go to their families more frequently in the first grade, this rate decreases toward the upper grades due to getting used to the university environment.Therefore, it is expected that first-year students will prefer distance education for both economic and sociopsychological reasons.Satisfaction level increases toward the 2nd grade.However, the level of satisfaction with distance education increases again in the fourth grade.This situation can be explained by the fact that the sample is a member of the Faculty of Education, and they are more focused on the KPSS exam and their anxiety increases.As a matter of fact, in the last year, pre-service teachers have reduced the time they spend at school and concentrate on exams.In this context, it can be stated that pre-service teachers ' preference for distance education directly affects their satisfaction levels.Although studies with significant results on this subject are not frequently encountered, Gedik and Erol (2022) did not find a significant difference according to the class variable in their study on the attitudes of prospective classroom teachers toward distance education.
The fourth sub-problem addressed within the scope of this research is to examine the satisfaction levels of pre-service social studies teachers regarding distance education according to the variable of settlement.When the results of the analysis obtained in this context are evaluated; it is seen that the satisfaction levels of pre-service Social Studies teachers regarding distance education vary significantly according to the residential area variable.In fact, the studyconcluded that pre-service Social Studies teachers residing in villages have higher satisfaction levels with distance education compared to pre-service teachers residing in the district center.On the other hand, it is noteworthy that no significant difference was observed according to the provincial center.The most significant reasons for the higher satisfaction levels of pre-service teachers residing in the village compared with those residing in other settlements are the difficulty of transportation due to the distance of the village to the education and training places and the fact that it has less comfort in terms of material terms.Therefore, it can be argued that prospective teachers residing in the village prefer distance education because of economic concerns such as transportation, housing, dressing, and eating and drinking, and accordingly, their satisfaction levels with distance education are high.This conclusion has been reached in many studies revealing the advantages of distance education (Özdoğan & Berkant, 2020;Yeşilyurt, 2021;Uyar, 2020;Korkut & Memişoğlu, 2021).These data show that there is a linear relationship between the place of residence or residence address and the advantages and disadvantages of distance education.
The last sub-problem addressed within the scope of the research is to determine whether the satisfaction levels of pre-service social studies teachers with distance education vary according to the variable of preference for distance or face-to-face education.In this context, when the research data were analyzed, it was determined that the satisfaction levels of pre-service social studies teachers regarding distance education differed significantly according to the variable of preference for distance or face-to-face education.According to the research, pre-service teachers who prefer distance education are expected to have higher levels of satisfaction with distance education.Otherwise, it would be contradictory for the sample with low satisfaction levels with distance education to prefer this form of education.
The results of the study by Türküresin (2020) on this subject also support the data obtained in the study.In Türküresin 's study, a significant portion of the sample stated the ability to always prefer face-to-face education because they received instant feedback from the lecturer and communicated better with eye contact, but they were deprived of this during the pandemic period and expressed their dissatisfaction with distance education.This result reveals a linear relationship between the level of preference for distance education and the level of satisfaction with distance education.In addition, it is observed that this linear relationship exists in many studies revealing the positive and negative aspects of distance education.However, when the literature is examined, there is no direct study that reveals the relationship between the independent variable of teachers ' or prospective teachers ' preference for distance education and their satisfaction level with distance education.In this sense, this research is unique in many aspects.
When the results of the research are considered in general terms, it is seen that the satisfaction levels of pre-service social studies teachers regarding distance education are high.When the sub-problems are evaluated separately, it is concluded that while the satisfaction levels of the prospective teachers regarding distance education do not differ significantly in terms of gender variable, they differ significantly according to the place of residence, the grade studied, and the preference for distance or face-to-face education.Based on these results, some suggestions were made.These suggestions are as follows: ➢ The research was conducted to determine the satisfaction levels of prospective Social Studies teachers regarding distance education.To make a more general judgment about distance education, similar studies can be conducted on a larger and different sample at the scale of other departments or faculties.
➢ This research uses a quantitative method.In this context, the number of studies on distance education can be increased with qualitative and mixed studies.Thus, more scientific inferences can be made.
➢ Because of this research, it was observed that the satisfaction levels of pre-service teachers regarding distance education were high.Based on this result, the field of distance education can be expanded in teaching starting from faculties or distance education can be used as a form of supportive education.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Start dates and first applications for some distance education applications around the world.Distance education, which has a long history in the traditional sense but has evolved into a new dimension with technological developments and has revealed a new understanding, is widely preferred all over the world today.Distance education, which What is the level of pre-service social study teachers' satisfaction with distance education?H2: Does pre-service social study teachers' satisfaction with distance education show a statistically significant difference according to gender?H3: Does pre-service social study teachers' satisfaction with distance education show a statistically significant difference according to the grade of education?H4: Does pre-service social study teachers' satisfaction with distance education show a statistically significant difference according to the place of residence?H5: Do pre-service social study teachers' satisfaction with distance education show a statistically significant difference according to their preference for face-to-face and distance education?
candidates regarding distance education is at the level of "Fully Agree (x=4.56).On the basis of sub-dimensions, in the sub-dimension of "Student-Student Interaction" "Agree (x=4.07), in the sub-dimension of "Student-Teacher Interaction" "Totally Agree (x=4.62), in the subdimension of "Online Courses" "Totally Agree (x=4,75), "Fully Agree (x=4,20) in the "Technical Support" sub-dimension, "Fully Agree (x=4,60) in the "Printed Materials" sub-dimension, and "Fully Agree (x=4,91) in the "Face-to-Face Activities" sub-dimension.This situation can be evaluated as indicating that the satisfaction levels of Social Studies teacher candidates regarding distance education are high.

Table 1
Findings Related to Normality

Table 1
Findings Related to Normality

Table 4
Data on Satisfaction Levels Regarding Distance Education with Respect to the Study Variable

Table 5
Data Regarding the Place of Residence Variable of Satisfaction Levels with Distance Education

Table 6
Data on Satisfaction Levels Regarding Distance Education and Preference for Distance or Face-to-Face