Investigation of Metaphorical Perceptions of University Students on the Concept of Sustainability

Abstract

The aim of this study is to reveal the perceptions of university students, who will form the qualified manpower of their country and who are expected to use sustainability effectively in every field in the future, about the concept of "sustainability" through metaphors. In the study, the phenomenology design was used. The data of the research were collected from 337 university students studying at Kırklareli University Faculty of Science and Literature in the spring semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. The collected data were analyzed and interpreted with content analysis technique. According to the findings, university students produced 301 valid and 137 different metaphor images regarding the concept of “sustainability”. These produced metaphor images were then categorized by considering their common features. When the common features of these metaphors were examined, 8 different categories were reached. These; sustainability in the context of continuity, sustainability in the context of need, sustainability in the context of stability/order, sustainability in the context of struggle, sustainability in the context of resource conservation, sustainability in the context of guide, sustainability in the context of innovation and sustainability in the context of value. When the categories of metaphor images created by university students for the concept of "sustainability" are examined, it is seen that sustainability is perceived most in the context of continuity. In addition, when the categories reached were evaluated as a whole, it was seen that the perceptions of university students regarding the concept of "sustainability" were generally positive.