Personal Metaphors Research Articles

Whobodies and whobody places: milieus of mattering

ABSTRACT Metaphors for empathy and welcoming places abound. Oft used descriptors for grief care include a safe place, a nurturing environment, compassionate care, and meeting the person where they are. Their commonness, while a possible strength, can be a liability if meanings are presumed. Good intentions for words used do not guarantee shared meanings. For some, stories containing metaphors have greater impact than professional jargon or overused euphemisms. Further, when “workers” engage “clients” in finding or creating personal metaphors, the words or phrases can take on more depth of meaning. Readers will be encouraged to consider metaphors for caring persons and places. Drawing on a children’s book about difference between anybodies and whobodies, readers will be exposed to variations of characteristics of whobodies and whobody places. A whimsical metaphor can engage all involved in caring conversations. Think of this article as a case study toward enrichment of relationships and the milieu in which caregiving occurs.

From doctor to facilitator: reflecting on the metaphors of early career EFL teachers

ABSTRACT When language teachers enter a classroom to teach in their early career years, they hold many different beliefs and feelings about how to conduct their classes that for the main part remain at the tacit level of understanding. However, it is important for early career language teachers to become aware of these beliefs and feelings so that they can critically reflect on their significance during this challenging period. Metaphors can offer early career teachers a rich means of identifying their experiences and beliefs that underpin their understanding of teaching and learning a second or foreign language. This qualitative study sought to contribute to the discussion of the experiences of four early career English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers through their use of metaphors to describe their personal understanding of their beliefs and feeling. Specifically, the case study examined the metaphors used by one teacher in her 2nd year, another in his 3rd year an additional teacher in his 4th year, and one in his 5th year of teaching. Results indicate that teachers in their 2nd and 3rd years chose personal metaphors that ‘diagnose’ deficits and thus must be in control, while in their 4th and 5th years the teachers wanted to motivate and facilitate the learning process rather than control it.

Special Interest Connection Framework: Integrating Pop Culture Into Art Therapy With Autistic Individuals

A hallmark symptom of autism includes restricted repetitive behaviors that manifest as special interest fixations. These interests can aid in building therapeutic relationships in art therapy. A retrospective review of clinical notes based in grounded theory identified 6 ways pop culture special interests function in the art therapy relationship: (1) behavioral reward, (2) social initiator, (3) social facilitator, (4) personal metaphor, (5) anxiety mediator, and (6) communication clarifier. These functions form the basis of the proposed Special Interest Connection Framework. Practitioners can use this framework to structure art therapy sessions with autistic individuals.

Personal Metaphors as Motivational Resources: Boosting Anticipated Incentives and Feelings of Vitality Through a Personal Motto-Goal

Motto-goals describe a desired mind-set and provide a person with a guiding principle of how to approach a personal goal or obligation (e.g., with the inner strength of a bear I am forging ahead). We propose that motto-goals can be conceptionalized as individually created metaphors and that the figurative, metaphorical language and the characteristics of the formation process make them effective in changing the perception of unpleasant personal obligations as more inherently enjoyable and raise vitality levels. To test whether a newly devised minimalistic motto-goal intervention can make goal striving more attractive (stronger anticipation of activity related incentives) and energize goal-oriented action (increase vitality) in relation to an unpleasant obligation, two experimental studies were conducted. In Study 1 the motto-goal condition led to stronger anticipation of activity related incentives and vitality compared to a distraction task. The effect on vitality was partially mediated by a change in feelings of autonomy. Study 2 replicated the effects compared to a placebo intervention and further found motto-goals to be specifically effective in increasing the anticipation of activity related incentives as opposed to outcome related incentives. The results support that applying motto-goals built with a newly developed minimalist motto-goal intervention can influence the subjective experience of individuals faced with a previously unpleasant obligation.

Preservice Music Teacher Identity Construction Through Metaphor

I investigated how preservice instrumental music teachers understand and describe their teacher identity through the use of metaphor in a one-semester instrumental methods course emphasizing authentic context learning. Twenty-five third-year instrumental methods course music education students created a personal metaphor to explore their professional identity construction. Preservice teacher metaphors were revisited throughout the semester, while students participated in an authentic context learning experience in an urban instrumental music classroom. Data sources included student artifacts, informal interviews, and observation/field notes. The impact of teaching within an authentic learning context appears to enrich the ways in which preservice teachers are able to articulate details of their metaphor descriptions. Through their reflections across the semester, preservice teachers demonstrated how personal metaphors were used to restructure their understandings of teacher identity and capture some of the complexities of becoming teachers.

Cultivated character: Voltaire and Karel Čapek on the good gardener

Abstract The paper unpacks the nuanced ethical potential in the metaphor of gardening that is depicted in Karel Čapek’s The Gardener’s Year, and the relevance of Čapek’s metaphor for understanding Voltaire’s famously ambiguous ending to Candide. Against more pessimistic or passive accounts of what Candide could have meant, the paper agrees with scholars who consider Candide’s maxim as meaning to engage in active, and communal practise of character development. By using Čapek’s much fuller account of the gardener in the practice of cultivation to fill in the gaps in Voltaire’s account, the paper shows that gardening is a rich metaphor of the virtuous person engaged in lifelong character cultivation.

Поэт как субъект языка: онтологические основания знаков и трендовые значения социума

The article reveals the problem of the ontological meaning of the life and functioning of the poet in its relationship with the communicative practices of contemporary global world. As a result of comparing the two ways of thought (globalism — antiglobalism, traditionalism — neoliberalism, modern — postmodern), the authors come to a preliminary conclusion that it is unacceptable for the creative industries of branding and PR to displace ontological adequations of poetic values as a part of classic art. The article clearly differentiates the concept of symbolic identity and the category of existential selfhood of a poet - poet as a PR hero and poet as a subject of language as a house of being. We make a hypothesis about a possibility of rational reconciliation of the priorities of the academic tradition as an inalienable context of the aesthetic value of art-work and postmodern digital technologies of art-promotion (including network platforms in the aspect of exclusively their correlation as the aim and maens: the ontology is primary strategy and the representation is secondary tactics. The methodological tool for the substantiating of this hypothesis is the idea of a structural balance between the vertical centripetal dynamic axis of the paradigm (metaphor) and the horizontal centrifugal static axis of the syntagma (metonymy) in classical semiotics. Within the frames of the signifier and signified as the Selfness and the Other, dynamics and statics, history and structure, imagine ideal meanings pass into a real-symbolic language, focusing in the inner world of the poet, turning personal creativity into the property of cultural memory. Thus, the hypothesis is confirmed through a synthesis of classical semiotics and non-classical psychoanalysis. If we liken the semiotic axes of intersection of vertical and horizontal to the R. Descartes coordinate system, the point of intersection of horizontal and vertical turns out to be a poet who translates personal metaphors into cultural-semantic invariants, replenishing the civilizational memory of culture, confirming his existential value, which is different from his or her purely communicative image. From a philosophical point of view, the article analyzes the concept of a poet's status as his/her existential state in comparison with criticism of symbolic capital (prestige, reputation, brand).

Perceptions of the accounting profession based on an analysis of metaphors by undergraduate accounting students

ABSTRACT This study explores final-year undergraduate accounting students’ perceptions of the accounting profession based on an analysis of personal metaphors. First, we identify and categorise the participants’ metaphors regarding the accounting profession and the students’ roles. Second, we identify similarities and differences in the perceptions of the two roles. Third, we analyse whether variables such as gender, age, nationality, academic specialty, or job preference are associated with the students’ perceptions. The data are obtained from the students’ responses to an open-ended questionnaire in which they express their metaphors through writing and drawing. The results suggest that most of the study participants have rather traditional views of the accounting profession, and most of them display similar approaches to accounting and education. This paper contributes to understanding accounting students’ perceptions and the findings may serve as a basis for designing specific in-class activities.

Ellis Island

Italian-American writer of the third-generation Robert Viscusi tells about the migratory tragedy of Italians in North America in his Ellis Island, a strongly innovative collection which combines history and autobiography. The poem consists of 624 sonnets unfolding through personal memories, historical researches and bold metaphors. The well-known opposition between earth and sea becomes here a match and a very realistic argument on the idea of transformation and mutability typical of a part of humanity that changes through migration. Ellis Island is the final place of changes, just as the poem itself, which can be read in the printed and static version, but also in the ever-changing, randomly generated one, available on the dedicated website by the author’s decision. A form in line with the content and its true meaning.
 

“Please bring a plate”: A metaphor for learning advisor practice based on Pacific values

Metaphors are powerful devices for guiding the practice of Learning Advisors, but are often used implicitly. This can result in such personal metaphors mis-guiding practice, or constraining the thinking about practice through a monocultural perspective. This paper is a response to the paper of Golding et al. (2015) in the first issue of the ATLAANZ journal, which evaluated a variety of different metaphors for Learning Advisors. The metaphor suggested in this response is based on the process of helping someone bake for a ‘please bring a plate’ function. It is an attempt to develop a metaphor that has resonance for Learning Advisors of Palagi/Western cultural backgrounds, but which is based on the values embedded in Pacific cultures. This metaphor is offered as a contribution to the philosophy of learning advising discussion: it is my ‘plate’ that I am bringing to help feed our academic community.

Habilidades profesionales asociadas a la docencia. Fijando posiciones de profesores en formación

Research has the novelty of approaching the professionalism that is built inside the personality of the pre-service teacher, using the metaphor of the “position” to make visible and question the different perspectives through which the teaching skills come to signify, as well as the orientation and view regarding teaching and what it means to be a teacher. The methodology adopts a qualitative character, based on an interpretative perspective. The technique of open interview, administered to fifty students from an elementary teacher program. The discussion of the results is written in the content analysis. The results demonstrate the construction of a teaching type that mobilizes professional skills inscribed in the metaphor of the teacher craftsman and the reflective one, strongly mediated from the metaphor of the teacher person.

Evolution of the personal teaching models of prospective secondary school science teachers as expressed through metaphors

This study analyses the evolution of the personal metaphors of 31 science graduates enrolled in a Master’s degree course in Secondary Education Teaching during the 2012–13 academic year. The instrument used was an open questionnaire that included asking the participants to make drawings representing the roles of the teacher. Four categories of metaphor were considered: behaviourist/transmissive, cognitivist/constructivist, situative/socio-historical, and self-referential. It was found that most of the prospective teachers were indeed able to conceptualize their roles in the form of metaphors. Comparison of the results before and after the teaching practicum revealed no changes in most of the participants’ metaphors and associated models. Instead, these appeared to be firmly set already at the beginning of the Master’s course, and remained uninfluenced by either the course or the practicum. Only a minority of the participants showed changes in their metaphors—5 with progressive changes, and 5 with regressive changes.

A Case Study: Claiming Equity Using Early Story and Metaphor

Coaching provides a useful approach for gaining the trust and balance needed to tackle difficult issues, including structural racism and equity. Adlerian practices lend themselves to effectively support the client and the coach in seeking and sustaining personal well-being and wholeness required for addressing equity issues. Use of two story-based methods proved valuable for assisting a client with movement: external stories that compare tragic and transformational characters to relevant client experiences, and internal ones, early recollection stories that reveal limiting and expansive patterns and behaviors and offer personal metaphors as guides. The method known as “story + mastery = more” offered the client greater focus, clarity, and direction and led to a new place of personal power and strength for both client and coach in their equity work.

“Yo quería ser…”: la voz de maestras de educación primaria

El presente trabajo tiene por objetivo conocer las metáforas personales de las maestras de educación primaria con relación a su oficio docente y los procesos de enseñanza de la matemática y la lectura. El estudio se llevó a cabo en cuatro centros educativos públicos del Distrito Educativo de Yamasá, en la región Este de República Dominicana. Se trabajó con una muestra intencionada de 19 maestras, responsables de los grados de 1.º a 4.º, con un cuestionario denominado La voz de la maestra, cuyo propósito era interpelar el sentimiento y la imaginación de las maestras y poder capturar su sentir hacia la labor docente. Los resultados arrojaron que más de la mitad de las participantes son maestras por necesidad económica, no por vocación, y que consideran la labor docente como la vía para ofrecer un servicio a la comunidad.

WORKPLACE SPIRITUALITY: METAPHORS AND OPINIONS OF TEACHERS

This study examined metaphors teachers provided about what their concepts of spirituality were. It also examined teachers’ opinions regarding workplace spirituality definitions, along with the qualities a spiritual organization requires. Based on the qualitative research method, the research was structured according to a phenomenological design. The sample studied was composed of two groups of teachers (N=40) from another study conducted on the schools’ spiritual development program during the 2016-2017 academic year in Sanliurfa, Turkey. The teachers from both groups volunteered to participate in different parts of this study and answered written questions about their personal metaphors to explain their concept of spirituality and what they think about the place of spirituality in schools, in light of their interpretations and definitions of workplace spirituality and spiritual qualities. While the first part of the study produced 18 different metaphors such as “ water, knowing the self, energy, sea, space, math, oxygen, students, nucleus ”, the second part included 30 different opinions about workplace spirituality on both a personal and a group level. The results show that the participants consider workplace spirituality as an important issue for self-identity, organizational identity, and growth. Article visualizations:

Effects of the Personal Iceberg Metaphor Model to Promote Self-Esteem and Self-understanding among Thai Adolescents: From Clinical Practice to A School-based Prevention Program

Effects of the Personal Iceberg Metaphor Model to Promote Self-Esteem and Self-understanding among Thai Adolescents: From Clinical Practice to A School-based Prevention Program

Evolución de los modelos docentes de futuros profesores de economía de secundaria, a través de la metáfora

A través de un cuestionario de preguntas abiertas, este estudio analiza la evolución de las metáforas personales de una muestra de profesores en formación de la especialidad de Economía del Máster Universitario en Formación del Profesorado en Educación Secundaria, durante el curso 2012/2013. Para el análisis se han adaptado las cuatro categorías de Leavy, McSorley y Boté (2007): conductistas-transmisivas, cognitivas-constructivistas, situadas y autorreferenciadas. Los resultados indican que la mayoría de los participantes fueron capaces de conceptualizar sus roles en términos de metáforas. Al comparar las metáforas, antes y después de las prácticas de enseñanza, se produce una evolución progresiva de las metáforas conductistas-transmisivas a cognitivas-constructivistas y situadas. Para los profesores en formación, la reflexión sobre sus propias metáforas, se ha mostrado como una buena herramienta para hacerlos conscientes de sus concepciones y de sus roles docentes, y para iniciar cambios en los mismos hacia modelos didácticos más centrados en el alumnado.

LAS EMOCIONES EN LAS METÁFORAS PERSONALES DE FUTUROS PROFESORES DE EDUCACIÓN PRIMARIA Y DE EDUCACIÓN SECUNDARIA DE ECONOMÍA

Abstract:In this study personal metaphors related to emotions of future teachers of Primary Teacher Education, Faculty of Education and Secondary Education specializing in Economics Master of Teacher Training School, University of Extremadura are analyzed, during the year 2010/2011. In research conducted adapt the four categories of Leavy et al. (2007). The results indicate that in general metaphors, both teachers and secondary teachers, as many are in the behaviorist / transmissive category. However, the greater number of emotional metaphors fall into the self referred and cognitive / constructivist category, but there are teachers who express metaphors framed in more than one category.KEYWORDS: Metaphors, emotions, teachers, teacher, elementary, secondary, economy.Resumen:En este estudio se analizan las metáforas personales relacionadas con las emociones de futuros profesores de Maestro de Educación Primaria de la Facultad de Educación y de Educación Secundaria de la especialidad de Economía del máster de Formación del Profesorado de Secundaria de la Universidad de Extremadura, durante el curso 2010/2011. En la investigación realizada adaptamos las cuatro categorías de Leavy et al. (2007). Los resultados indican que en las metáforas generales, tanto en los maestros como en los profesores de secundaria, el mayor número se encuentran en la categoría conductista/ transmisiva. Sin embargo el mayor número de metáforas emocionales se encuadran en la categoría autorreferenciada y cognitiva/constructivista, aunque hay profesores que expresan metáforas encuadradas en más de una categoría.PALABRAS-CLAVE: Metáforas, emociones, profesorado, maestro, primaria, secundaria, economía.

Analytical Study of Teacher Educators’ Metaphors of Teaching

Teaching metaphor is an important phenomenon which can be used to determine teachers’ perceptions regarding their job and their workplace (Turunen, 2003). This study was aimed to explore the metaphors of junior and senior teacher educators to get insights of what teaching was for them. A comparative analysis between the junior and senior teacher educators helped to understand how these metaphors changed over time. Data for the qualitative study were collected from the districts of Sargodha, Khushab and Mianwali situated in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Fifty teacher educators teaching at postgraduate level participated in the study and filled in the survey questionnaire. The data were coded and analysed qualitatively. Six themes emerged from the data: religious obligations, economic activities, nature compatibility, life processes, emotional affiliations, and thought provoking activities.These themes were compatible with Chen’s (2013) classification of teachers’ personal metaphors. The implications of metaphors could be used to enhance critical thinking of teacher educators to improve the quality of education.

Las metáforas emocionales de profesores en formación de Infantil, Primaria y Psicopedagogía

This study analyzes the personal metaphors related to emotions of students in the first year of Maestro degree studies, and students of Psychopedagogy degree in the last year, from the Faculty of Education of Badajoz. The sample comes from 35 students of Maestro degree of Childhood Education, 50 students of Maestro degree of Primary Education, and 46 students of Psychopedagogy degree, during the year 2010/2011 where he raised two open questions. In research conducted metaphors in the four categories of Leavy, McSorley and Bote (2007): transmissive/ behavioral, cognitive/constructivist, situated and self-referential. The results indicate that most of the prospective teachers were able to conceptualize their roles in the form of metaphors. The greatest number of metaphors expressed by the prospective primary and childhood teacher, belonged to the behaviourist/transmissive category, followed by the cognitivist/constructivist, self-referential, and situative categories. However the psychopedagogy group, expressed the same number of metaphors in the categories behaviourist/transmissive and cognitivist/constructivist, followed by the situative and self-referential categories. In emotional metaphors the result is very different: The greatest number of emotional metaphors expressed by the three groups belonged to the cognitivist/constructivist category, especially in prospective primary and childhood teacher, followed by the self-referential category, with fewer in the behaviourist/transmissive and situative categories. For preservice teachers, reflecting on their own metaphors, both cognitive and emotional ones, can be a powerful tool to conceptualize their ideas, attitudes, emotions and teaching roles and to initiate changes in them.