An Investigation of Preschoolers' Perceptions about Science and Mathematics through Metaphors

Mathematics and science are important concepts that children's encounter in both daily and educational life. Early childhood is the time in which the first ideas of the mathematics and science developed. In this study, we investigated children's perceptions about mathematics and science through metaphors in terms of being able to provide rich information. This study was qualitative research in the form of phenomenological. Participants consisted of 88 children from five and six years old groups. As a data collection tool, we used a semi-structured interview form. As a result of the analysis, we found out that there were five positive and one negative category about mathematics. The category that was used most commonly about mathematics was "mathematics as a part of education". On the other hand, all of the metaphors about science were in the positive category. Metaphors about science were grouped under four categories. The category that included the highest number of metaphors was "science that involves phenomena and creatures in nature". In conclusion, children's metaphors about mathematics included elements such as "homework, line, and course", while the metaphors about science included elements such as "nature, curiosity, and research". [This article has been presented EJER Congress Antalya, Turkey, 2018.]