Special Education Master’s Students’ Metaphorical Perceptions of Children Having High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

In the current study, aimed to determine the metaphorical perceptions of students receiving graduate education in the field of special education about high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. The study employed the phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research techniques, as the research method. The study group consists of 75 students pursuing a master’s degree in the Department of Special Education in the Faculty of Education at five different state universities during the spring term of the 2022-2023 academic year. The participants of the study were selected by using the convenience sampling method. The participants’ perceptions regarding children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder were determined using a data collection tool that included the phrase “Children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder are like... to me; because...” and questions to elicit demographic information of the participants. The data collected from the participants were analyzed using the content analysis method. In this study, the participants, who were master’s students in the Special Education Department, generated 75 metaphors regarding children with a high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. The metaphors derived from the data obtained from the participants were grouped and categorized into 6 categories based on their common characteristics as a result of the review of experts. When the generated metaphors were examined, it was seen that the participating students mostly liken children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder to concepts such as flowers, rainbows, stars, boxes and computers. The study results indicate that the metaphors generated by the participants regarding children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder are generally expressed through positive and concrete concepts