METAPHORICAL PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHER CANDIDATES REGARDING CULTURAL DIVERSITY: A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON

This study was aimed at revealing the perceptions of Turkish and Kyrgyz teacher candidates on cultural diversity. In addition, the study aimed to make an intercultural comparison based on the metaphors produced regarding cultural diversity. In this research study carried out in keeping with the qualitative content analysis design used to analyze the data using metaphors. At the end of the study, the Turkish teacher candidates produced 52 metaphors in six categories. The metaphors produced by Turkish participants are grouped into sea, plant, food, nature, colour, and other. The Kyrgyz teacher candidates, on the other hand, produced 29 metaphors in six categories. The metaphors produced by the Kyrgyz participants are grouped into plant, food, animal, nature, colour, and other. The metaphors produced by the participants from both countries focused on the positive aspects of cultural diversity. This situation has shown that Turkish and Kyrgyz teacher candidates are positive about cultural diversity and therefore do not have a negative attitude toward other races.