The cognitive structures and metophorical perception in relation to immigration of the Syrian 11th grader (Kilis province example)

Humans have always migrated since they existed. They migrate to have a better life and meet their needs. Migration movements can sometimes take place on a voluntary basis and sometimes on a compulsory basis. War is one of the reasons for forced migration. People are compelled to go to places where there is security and peace from places where violence such as internal turmoil and persecution take place. Since 2011, Syrians that fled the violence and civil war in their country have been living as refugees in our country. Syrian students who have personally experienced the migration continue their education at schools in Kilis, where the migrant density is the highest. In this research that was conducted in order to interpret the concept of migration from the eyes of the students who migrated from compulsory reasons and to determine the cognitive structures of the students about the issue of migration; 110 Syrian students living in Kilis and studying in 11th grade formed the study group of the research. In this study, the phenomenology design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. In this study, which was conducted by using the Word Association Test (WAT), students were asked to write down the words that came to their minds regarding the concept of migration in a certain period of time. Content analysis technique, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the analysis of the obtained data. The answers given by the students to the concept of migration were categorized by dividing into frequencies. In addition, conceptual networks were created in order to reveal their cognitive structures. When the findings were examined, it was determined that the students mostly chose the words related to the concept of migration from negative words. Students' sentences about the concept of migration consist of words in the process of their migration. When we look at students' learning about immigration, it was determined that the words and sentences that the students used on the subject of migration originate from the words they learned by experiencing during the migration, not at school. As a result, according to the findings obtained, it was revealed that the cognitive structures of the students on migration mostly stem from learning by experience and they mostly explained the issue of migration with negative words. It can be said that word association tests are an effective method in revealing students' cognitive structures.