A Metaphoric Study for Classroom Teacher Candidates in Socio-Scientific Issues Based Environmental Education Class: Nuclear Power Plant Example

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the metaphors that the candidate teachers develop about the nuclear power plants in the socio-scientific issues based environmental education class and the justification of these metaphors. The study was constructed on the basis of a qualitative research model and phenomenological (phenomenology) pattern was used. The study was conducted during an academic semester in the environmental education course. The researcher presented to the classroom teacher candidate the positive and negative effects of the socio-scientific situations on the environment, human, development, economy, and health. It was ensured that teacher candidates were able to relate these issues to the subjects of environmental education course, assess the difficulties and discuss them with large group studies. A study for building the metaphors was conducted in the activity carried out for nuclear power plants as the last activity of the implementation process. The research was conducted with 197 classroom teacher candidates and the data were collected through a metaphor questionnaire prepared in a semi-structured form and the content analysis method was used in data analysis. The time period, when teacher candidates experience the metaphors more frequently, their age or they build the metaphors in the interaction with the environment they are living in and they have listed the metaphors as follows; falling in love, internet, getting married, using medication, gun, frenemies, using the phone, bomb, eating desserts, gambling and smoking. When the reasons why the classroom teacher candidates use the metaphors are reviewed, it has been determined that they basically create supportive, opponent and impartial reasons for the nuclear power plants. Nevertheless, the majority of class teacher candidates perceived as a socio-scientific issue towards nuclear power plants and recognized the contradictory circumstances and apprehended the positive and negative characteristics of nuclear power plants in the context of economic and environmental effects.