Vol. 4 No. 2 (2024): People
Articles

Correctional Educators’ Metaphorical Perceptions of Their Professional Selves

Hajnalka Izsák
Partium Christian University

Published 2025-02-04

Keywords

  • metaphor,
  • metaphor analysis,
  • qualitative educational research,
  • reformatory,
  • correctional educator

How to Cite

Correctional Educators’ Metaphorical Perceptions of Their Professional Selves. (2025). Papers in Arts and Humanities, 4(2), 66-77. https://doi.org/10.52885/466sec49

Abstract

Metaphor is a widely studied phenomenon, valued not only for its aesthetic appeal and variety but also for its significant role in shaping thinking and cognition. In qualitative educational research, metaphors serve as valuable instruments for depicting existing educational states, revealing new insights into educational practice and theory, as well as for gaining a deeper understanding of educators’ world. Metaphors allow for linking information about one familiar concept to another, creating a new understanding through the comparison process that generates new meaning. Educators working in juvenile correctional institutions or reformatories form a rather under-researched community. As they carry out their educational activities in a closed world, there is limited information available about them. This study adopted a qualitative research design. Within the frame-work of semi-structured individual interviews conducted with fifteen correctional educators, I used the method of metaphor collection based on analogy, using the target concept of juvenile correctional educator. The resulting twenty-seven metaphors were organised into source concepts and subjected to content analysis. While the majority of the metaphors pertain to care and nurturing, others point to the closed nature of the institution, suggesting that the focus here is more on the role of the caregiver rather than that of the knowledge transmitter. With this method, my aim was to explore juvenile correctional educators’ most complex image of their own professional selves.

References

  1. B. Aczél, A. (2010). Nevelők—javítóintézetben [Educators—in correctional institutions]. In Hegedűs J. (Ed.), A javítóintézet világa (pp. 97–104). Eötvös József Könyvkiadó.
  2. Botha, E. (2009). Why metaphor matters in education. South African Journal of Education, 29(4), 431–444. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v29n4a287
  3. Brugman, B., Burgers, C., & Vis, B. (2019). Metaphorical framing in political discourse through words vs. concepts: A meta-analysis. Language and Cognition, 11(1), 41–65. https://doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2019.5
  4. Cameron, L. (2003). Metaphor in educational discourse. Continuum.
  5. Cameron, L., & Low, G. (1999). Metaphor. Language Teaching, 32(2), 77–96. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444800013781
  6. Cameron, L., & Maslen, R. (Eds). (2010). Metaphor analysis: Research practice in applied linguistics, social sciences, and the humanities. Equinox.
  7. Carver, L. J., & Harrison, L. M. (2016). Democracy and the challenges of correctional education. Journal of Correctional Education, 67(1), 2–16. Retrieved November 9, 2024, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/26506624
  8. Elliot, R. (1984). Metaphor, imagination and conceptions of education. In W. Taylor (Ed.), Metaphors of education (pp. 38–53). Heinemann Educational.
  9. Fábián, G. (2015). A metaforaelemzés szubjektivitásának korlátozása pedagógiai nézetek vizsgálata során [Limiting the subjectivity of metaphor analysis in the study of pedagogical views]. In É. Major & Á. Veszelszki (Eds.), A tanárrá válás és a tanárság kutatása a magyar nyelv és irodalom, az idegen nyelvek és a művészetek műveltségi területen (pp. 233–248). Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem (ELTE).
  10. Gibbs, R. W. (1999). The poetics of mind: Figurative thought, language, and understanding. Cambridge University Press.
  11. King, N. (1994). The qualitative research interview. In C. Cassell & G. Symon (Eds.), Qualitative methods in organizational research: A practical guide (pp. 14–37). Sage Publications.
  12. Kissné Zsámboki, R., & Patyi, G. (2018). Angyalkertek egykor és ma—Az óvodapedagógus hallgatók metaforáiban megjelenő óvodakép pedagógiatörténeti vonatkozásai és jelenkori sajátosságai [Garden of angels then and now—Pedagogical history and contemporary characteristics of the metaphors of kindergarten students]. Képzés és Gyakorlat: Training and Practice, 16(4), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.17165/TP.2018.4.2
  13. Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press.
  14. Leavy, P. (2013). Method meets art: Arts-based research practice (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
  15. Levin, T., & Wagner, M. (2006). In their own words: Understanding student conceptions of writing through their spontaneous metaphors in the science classroom. Instructional Science, 34, 227–278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-005-6929-x
  16. Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Metaphor. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved November 9, 2024, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metaphor
  17. Munby, H., & Russell, T. (1990). Metaphor in the study of teachers’ professional knowledge. Theory Into Practice, 29(2), 116–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405849009543441
  18. Őrley, Z. (2011). Az afázia metaforája [The metaphor of aphasia]. Rehabilitáció, 21(2–3), 59–63.
  19. Perry, C., & Cooper, M. (2001). Metaphors are good mirrors: Reflecting on change for teacher educators. Reflective Practice, 2(1), 41–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623940120035514
  20. Pénzes, É. (2008). Metaforák a (gyógy)pedagógiában [Metaphors in (medical) pedagogy]. Új Pedagógiai Szemle, 58(6–7), 228–238.
  21. Sankar, P., & Jones, N. (2008). Semi-structured interviews in Bioethics Research. In L. Jacoby & L. Siminoff (Eds.), Empirical methods for bioethics: A primer (Vol. 11, pp. 117–139). JAI Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1479-3709(07)11006-2
  22. Tamás, K. (2017). Inkluzív nevelés az óvodában [PhD dissertation] [Inclusive education in kindergarten]. ELTE PPK Neveléstudományi Doktori Iskola.
  23. Tóthné Aszalai, A. (2018). A metaforakutatás módszere a dadogás megismerésében [The metaphor research method for understanding stuttering]. In J. Karlovitz (Ed.), Elmélet és gyakorlat a neveléstudományok és szakmódszertanok köréből (pp. 109–116). International Research Institute. https://doi.org/10.18427/iri-2018-0015
  24. Vámos, Á. (2003). Tanárkép, tanárfogalom a családban [Teacher image, teacher concept in the family]. Iskolakultúra, 13(5), 113–119.