The metaphorical perceptions of social science pre-service teachers about nature education

This study aims to reveal the perceptions of the social science pre-service teachers about the concept of nature education through metaphors. For this aim, pre-service teachers were requested to create metaphors related to the concept of nature education. Also, they were asked to describe this concept by drawing. The participants of this study are 150 pre-service teachers who are registered to Aksaray University, Faculty of Education, the department of Social Sciences and department of Turkish Language, Social Sciences Education. 46 pre-service teachers are studying in the first year, 28 of them are the 2nd year, 43 of them are in the 3rd year, and 33 of them are in the 4th year. The content analysis method was used to analyse the data. To conclude, it was identified that pre-service teachers' perceptions about the concept of nature education are positive. It was found out that most of the metaphors that preservice teachers created were intended for applied learning and also their drawings were described by natural formations and the places they visited.