ERIC Number: EJ1203936
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1618-5293
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Politics as Shaping: An Approximation to Students' Metaphorical Understanding
Kegel, Andreas Stephan
Journal of Social Science Education, v17 n4 p26-39 Win 2018
Purpose: Teaching social science might benefit from using students' metaphorical understanding. Metaphors help people to better understand abstract concepts by breaking them down into more familiar ones. This essay attempts to approximate students' metaphors of politics to improve social science education's efforts in shaping politically mature citizens. Method: Taking three single interviews with students attending senior classes in high schools in Hamburg, Germany, this paper analyses metaphors they use to describe politics. It categorizes them and puts them into a larger context in the form of systematic metaphors providing an approximation to the students' metaphorical understanding. Findings: The findings suggest that students understand politics as shaping society, participation as passing upwards people's interests, governance as guidance, and human life as the foundation for society. However, more research is necessary, such as analysing more students' metaphors or using issue-related drawings. Practical implications: Teachers can use these findings to initialize a conceptual reconstruction. They could ask students to draw a "Grafiz" using the terms suggested above and having a better access to students' metaphorical understanding of a topic. That helps the teacher to select appropriate material for their teaching units.
Descriptors: Figurative Language, Social Sciences, Student Attitudes, High School Students, Foreign Countries, Politics, Secondary School Teachers
Journal of Social Science Education. Bielefeld University Faculty of Sociology, Universitätsstraße 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany. Tel: +49-521-106-3985; Fax: +49-521-106-153986; e-mail: info@jsse.org; Web site: http://www.jsse.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A