METAPHORICAL PERCEPTIONS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS ABOUT RECYCLING

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the metaphorical perceptions of secondary school students about recycling. The working group of the study consisted of 120 7th- and 8th-grade students studying in a public school in the fall semester of the 2022–2023 academic year. Of this working group, 54 (45%) were male and 66 (0%) were female. With the questionnaire prepared on the form, “Recycling is like...........” and “Because...........” two-stage open-ended questions were asked to the students. Phenomenology was used as the research design. Content analysis in the qualitative analysis section was used to analyze the data. In addition, the demographic information of the students; gender, mother’s and father’s graduation status, how many hours they read books daily, how many hours they watch television daily, and their daily phone and tablet usage times were descriptively stated. At the end of the study, it was concluded that the students were very interested and enthusiastic about recycling. It was understood that recycling awareness and sensitivity can be created in students by evaluating these tendencies. In order to evaluate students’ interest in recycling, it is recommended to focus on more specific studies on recycling, carry out club and course activities, give students tasks that will create recycling awareness, and organize competitions.