Turkish students' metaphors about the European Union

Abstract

The aim of this qualitative study was to examine and compare the metaphors of Primary School Secondary Level Students related to the European Union. A total of 399 Primary School Secondary Level students were involved in this study. In the form given to students for data collection, the students were asked to express their opinions about European Union. According to the data gathered, the metaphors of the participants were categorized into 8 groups. According to the analysis and the results of the study, the students tried to explain the EU with positive concepts such as development of future, democracy, freedom, success. However, they also produced negative metaphors like dead end, abyss, colonist, difficulty, utilitarian, blankness. This study used a phenomenological design. The data was collected through a semi-structured Interview Form. The data were analysed with content analysis.