High school students' satisfaction levels and metaphorical perceptions and a proposal for a model based on the ideal school of their dreams

Students are at the center of school stakeholders because other stakeholders such as teachers, administrators, servants, staff and parents are there for the knowledge, skills, attitudes and habits that are expected to be acquired by the student in all activities related to the school. Students spend a significant part of their time at school and try to fulfill their expectations from education. For this, it is thought that both the achievements related to the school and the services offered to them greatly affect their satisfaction with the school. The aim of this research is to determine the satisfaction levels of high school students from school and to develop a school model proposal by determining their opinions based on the concept of the ideal school they imagine. This study is a mixed method research in Sequential descriptive (Quantitative-Qualitative) design. In the quantitative part of the study; Students included in the study from all types of public high schools in the five central districts of Antalya in the 2020-2021 academic year were selected in accordance with the easily accessible disproportionate cluster sampling. The "Student Satisfaction with School Scale" was developed by the researcher, and a preliminary and main application was made. In the qualitative part; Qualitative interviews were conducted with Anatolian high school students in five central districts in Antalya, using a semi-structured interview form prepared by the researcher. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with the students and their metaphorical perceptions of the school and their opinions about the school of their dreams were taken. According to the results of the research, the satisfaction levels of the students as a result of the t-test, arithmetic mean and ANOVA and LSD tests for the quantitative part; their overall satisfaction with the school's dimensions is "moderately satisfied"; the arithmetic averages indicate that the highest satisfaction level of the school is in the teacher-student relations and communication dimension at the school; the lowest average was seen in the dimensions of the physical structure of the school, the adequacy of the garden and its departments, the suitability of the course content, program and curriculum for the students. When analyzed according to their genders; there is a significant difference between female students and male students; this difference is that female students' perceptions of satisfaction are lower than males; according to grade levels; there is a significant difference in general; the difference is that as the grade levels of the students increase, their satisfaction decreases; According to high school types; there is a significant difference; Considering all dimensions, the satisfaction level of students studying in religious vocational high schools is higher than students in other high school types; On the other hand, it was determined that the general satisfaction of the students in Anatolian high schools was relatively low in all dimensions. In the qualitative part, when the opinions of the Anatolian high school students were examined, the metaphorical perceptions of the school were classified as positive and negative, and their reasons were taken. Accordingly, it was observed that while the students produced positive metaphors such as Second House, Home, A Fun Vehicle, and Tree, they produced negative metaphors such as Labyrinth, Prison, Semi-Open Prison, Jelly Beans, Spinach and Workplace. At the end of the research, the ideal school model of the students was created by taking the factors affecting the satisfaction of the students about the current school and their opinions about the school of their dreams. Accordingly, the school that the students imagined consisted of three dimensions and six sub-dimensions. The school model has three dimensions: administration, education, service and facilities. The administrative structure and functioning of the school, student-teacher relations and communication at the school, the suitability of the course content, program and curriculum, the quality of the education at the school and its contribution to student development, the physical structure of the school, the adequacy of the gardens and departments, the services and opportunities offered to the students at the school are sub-dimensions has emerged.