Examining Secondary School Students’ Perceptions of the Concept of Migration: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of the eighth grade students
regarding the concept of migration covered in the 6th and 7th grades social studies curriculum.
To this end, the metaphors produced by the students in regard to this concept and the
pictures/cartoons drawn by them about it were examined. Survey model was used in this
study. Qualitative research techniques considered suitable for triangulation (collecting data
via metaphors and document analysis) were used together. The study group consisted of 334
eight grade students (176 males and 158 females) attending secondary schools located in the
central districts of Ankara, Kilis, and Gaziantep provinces in the fall semester of the
2014-2015 academic year. The participants were randomly selected through purposeful
sampling. The data obtained from the participants were analyzed and interpreted through
content analysis. Results indicated that most of the participants, whether or not they had been
exposed to migration, perceived migration as “compulsion”, “continuity”, and “cause of
separation”. Another result of this study was that especially the participants exposed to
migration perceived migration as “time-dependent differentiation” and “unhappiness” and
thought that migration is an undesirable temporary event that occurs at certain times and
disappears after a while.