Examination of perception of freedom of imprisoned children between 12-18 ages through metaphors

Freedom is an abstract concept that depends on personal perceptions and influences human life and behaviors directly or indirectly. So, no definite and clear description can be made for the meaning of freedom.. Child delinquency is a noteworthy problem in Turkey as it is in the world.. It is significant to understand restricted children's perception of freedom in terms of their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. This study aims at understanding perception of freedom of sentenced or imprisoned children between the ages 12-18 in prison or reformatory through metaphors. This study is a phenomenological research. The data is obtained via structured interview form. In the first part there are articles for getting personal information about children. In the second part there are articles that requires students to produce metaphors about freedom and the life in and outside the prison. Content analysis technique is used for analyzing the research data. It is observed that attendants have produced different and interesting metaphors about the concept of freedom. It is also remarkable that these metaphors are related to attendants' psychological, economic and social status. This study is also important to reflect the attendants' views about the life in and outside the prison. This study is also useful for understanding the children in prison and their social inclusion.