EXPLORING PRIMARY SCHOOL TEAHCHERS’ METAPHORS CONCERNING “TEACHER”

In this study, it is aimed to investigate primary school teachers’ living metaphors about “teacher”. In the study, a phenomenology method is preferred which is widely known in a qualitative research approach. A purposive sampling is adapted in which the sample is 16 primary school teachers working in four different primary schools in the cities of Trabzon and Gümüşhane. A Teacher Metaphor Form is used in collecting data. The data were processed by content analysis which is considered as higher level technique. In the study, 17 living teachermetaphors were found out. In the content analysis, the most metaphors were determined underthe theme “raiser and developer teacher”. The primary school teachers hold teacher metaphorsabout how to be teachers, and the roles of teachers which they wish to be and their educationalapproaches. At the end of the study, it is recommended that these could be powerful researchtools to make their mental image explicit.