Elementary school teachers' lived experience of effective” out-of-school elements and components” in the virtual classroom

The present study was conducted with the aim of identifying the lived experiences of elementary teachers of virtual education in Shiraz. This research was conducted with the paradigm of interpretivism and qualitative methodology, using Husserl's descriptive method and Colaizzi's method. The population of this study included 25 teachers working in the elementary schools in Shiraz. They were members of the students' educational network (Shad) or used other electronic platforms to conduct virtual education. To select the participants in this research, criterion purposive sampling and theoretical saturation criterion were used. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews that were conducted using an "interview guide". The validity of the data was determined by using confirmability techniques through debriefing by subject experts and the reliability was determined by the transparent description of the research steps and the researcher's reflexivity.After re-extracting the subthemes and comparing them with the subthemes extracted by the researcher, the agreement of the analyses of the researcher and experts was established. Krippendorf's alpha was used to ensure reliability. Krippendorff's alpha for about 60 interview notes showed a coefficient of 0.78 regarding the themes, which indicates the acceptable reliability of the analysis. Data analysis was done using the 7-step Colaizzi's method. Among the extracted sub-themes, an inclusive theme of "out-of-school elements and components" was obtained. The out-of-school elements and components" included the organizing themes, features, digital and non-digital facilities, and challenges and some issues which conducting education in the virtual environment.By identifying out-of-school elements and components affecting the virtual classroom, teachers can be helped in planning to improve the capacity and facilities of the virtual classroom.