Analysis of Metaphorical Perceptions of 7th Grade Students About The Concept of “State” Examination Certain Variables: The Example of Diyarbakır Province

The objective of the present study is to attempt to determine the views of junior high school 7th grade students about the concept of state via metaphors. Based on the study objective, the following research questions were identified: What are the metaphors that students related with the concept of the “state”? Under which conceptual categories the metaphors put forward by the students could be grouped based on their common characteristics? Do the metaphor categories formed by the students differ based on the gender variable? Do the metaphor categories formed by the students differ based on the home town variable? Do the metaphor categories formed by the students differ based on the family income variable? Do the metaphor categories formed by the students differ based on the parents education level variable? The present study is a descriptive research because it aims to present the situation as it is. Qualitative and quantitative research (mixed) methods were used in collection, analysis and interpretation of the collected data in the study. The qualitative research method, phenomenology design was used in the study. In the study, data were collected with a personal information form and additional survey forms that required the students to fill in the blanks in the following sentence: State is like ............, Because ............ . Based on the obtained data, it was determined that the students produced 41 valid metaphors about the concept of state. Differences between the metaphors developed by the students on the concept of the state based on various variables were analyzed using adequate statistical methods. The data obtained in the present study were analyzed with SPSS 21 software. The present study yielded 6 different conceptual categories related to the concept of state. These were Protection, Facilitating Life, Management, Unity, Power, and Negativity. Based on the results, it was observed that the perceptions of the students on the concept of the state did not exhibit statistically significant differences based on Gender, Hometown, Family Income, and Parents’ Education Level variables.