Teachers’ Experience in Post-Earthquake Türkiye: Needs, Challenges, and Strategic Approach

OpenAlex · İngilizce

The earthquakes that occurred in Türkiye on February 6, 2023, formed a successive series of major seismic events and were recorded as one of the largest inland earthquakes in terms of both scope and damage. These earthquakes also had profound and multifaceted repercussions on the education system. The study aims to develop practice-informed strategic recommendations by identifying teachers’ fundamental needs, the challenges they encountered, and the solutions they devised in the aftermath of the earthquake. Adopting a phenomenological research design, the study was conducted with 30 teachers, aged between 28 and 60, who were working in Kahramanmaraş, the epicenter of the earthquake. The findings indicate that teachers simultaneously carried both personal and professional burdens, and thus faced difficulties in managing dual responsibilities; that students exhibited apathy and psychosocial problems; that classrooms became overcrowded and spatial constraints disrupted instruction; and that families experienced economic hardships. Based on the experiences of teachers who remained in the earthquake epicenter and continued their professional roles, the study offers practice-informed strategic recommendations aimed at supporting educational continuity, reducing inequality, and strengthening resilience in post-earthquake contexts.