METAPHORICAL PERCEPTIONS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS RELATED TO SPORTS

The aim of this study is to determine the perceptions of the students of sport activity lesson related to sport concept by using metaphor method. This study was conducted within the scope of the phenomenological method, which is one of the qualitative research designs. Because the phenomenological method aims to determine the experiences, perceptions and meanings of individuals about a phenomenon. The study group consisted of 108 university students, 51 female, and 55 male, who selected the Sports activity lesson in the spring of 2018. These students were studying at 1st class the Faculty of Dentistry of Gazi University.A 4-item form developed by the researcher was used to collect data. The collected qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis method. Expressions that are similar to each other through content analysis, opinions are gathered and presented under certain categories. In the first item of the data collection form, the students expressed 306 words describing the sport. These words were grouped under five basic categories. These categories are: Movement and Health (34%); Sportive Terms or People (26%); Positive Features, Emotions and Experiences (26%); Negative Experiences and Emotions (6%) and Social Environment (6%).In the second item, the students produced 94 metaphors. Eight categories were created according to the metaphores produced. These categories are: Relaxation (26%); Life (21%); Useful and Tutorial (17%); Indispensable (9%); Different Effects According to Situation (9%); Health (8%); Friend (5%); Unnecessary and Tiring (2%) category. In the third item, the students produced 105 metaphors. Three categories were created according to the metaphores produced. These categories are: Positive emotions (91%); Negative Emotions (7%); Variability (% 1) category. In the fourth item, the students brought 17 different proposals.As a result, it has been seen that sport concept is mostly perceived positively. However, negative perceptions have also been found. Therefore, both the negative perceptions and the reasonable suggestions of the students should be taken into consideration when studying physical education and sports