Metaphoric Perceptions of Teacher Candidates about COVID-19

This study aimed to determine the metaphors that teacher candidates created for COVID-19. In this study, a phenomenological research design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. The study group consisted of 168 teacher candidates (111 female, 57 male) who attended a state university in the 2019-2020 academic year and volunteered to participate in the study. In this study, metaphors were collected from teacher candidates with a semi-structured form to determine their feelings and thoughts about COVID-19. The first part of the form aimed to collect demographic information. In the second part, to determine the metaphorical perceptions of teacher candidates about COVID-19, they were asked to complete the blanks in the phrase, "COVID-19 is similar to ………. because ............” In this study, content analysis was employed to analyze the data collected through semi-structured forms. According to the findings regarding the data obtained, teacher candidates came up with 89 valid metaphors about COVID-19. The metaphors that teacher candidates frequently used were "reminder, gossip, warder, foe, ignorant person, atom bomb, love, cigarette, dragon and meteorite/meteor”. The metaphors created by the teacher candidates about the COVID-19 pandemic were grouped under seven conceptual categories. These were "items/objects, natural events, animals/plants, actions/behaviors, abstract concepts, people, and professions"