Perceptions of Normally Developing Students and Students with Special Needs Regarding the Metaphor of Social Studies Concept


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Buyukalan S., Yaylaci Z.

ANKARA UNIVERSITESI EGITIM BILIMLERI FAKULTESI OZEL EGITIM DERGISI-ANKARA UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, cilt.19, sa.4, ss.679-697, 2018 (ESCI) identifier

Özet

The aim of this study is to reveal the metaphor perceptions of students with normal development and special needs regarding the concept of social information. In this study, a phenomenological pattern, a qualitative research model, was used. The study group of the study is composed of 72 students who attended public schools in Karabik, Turkey during the 2016-2017 academic year, 30 of which received inclusive education. In order to gather the study data, the participants were asked to fill in the blanks in the statement: "Social studies is like .........; because ...................". Content analysis was used in the analysis of the data obtained from the study. The findings of the study indicated that normally developing students produced a total of 33 metaphors under 9 categories, whereas students with special needs produced a total of 25 metaphors under 11 categories. As a result of the study revealed that the students predominantly associated the concept of social studies to the concepts of "history" and "the past" predominantly. In comparison with students with normal development, students with special needs included in the study produced mostly concrete metaphors regarding the concept of social studies. Another significant difference between two groups of participants was that the students with special needs emphasized several points regarding the concept of social studies through their metaphors: social studies courses are necessary for them and social studies courses offer them the opportunity to socialize and learn about good manners and behavioural rules.