5th Grade Students’ Metaphorical Perceptions of School Concept

The aim of this research is to reveal the perceptions of the 5th grade students towards school by using metaphors. The research is conducted with the phenomenology as a qualitative research pattern. The study group of the research consisted of 85 students studying in different provinces and different school types during the fall semester of 2016-2017 academic year. The data gathered by the “School Perception Form” was analyzed by using document analysis. The metaphors of students about school phenomenon such as home, family, safety and a place that makes you happy that were used in written materials and also playground and fun place in their visual metaphors show that the students have positive perceptions of school. The metaphors of prisoners, prisons and examinations were used in a small number of written metaphors, but metaphors of boring place in visual metaphors were frequently used. The metaphors were developed by the fifth grade students, the first grade of middle school, can be regarded as important indicators to understand positive and negative effects of the school on the students.