A Metaphorical View Regarding the Career and Sports Perceptions of University Students

A career is a process in which people prepare themselves for a higher level in their professional life by gaining certain experiences and knowledge in their professional life and direct proportion to the increase in their knowledge. Sports are activities that socialize people through certain physical activities, reveal their performance and contribute to the development of people emotionally. This study aimed to reveal the perceptions of the faculty of sports sciences students about the concept of career and sports through metaphors. The study group of the research consisted of 61 students studying at Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University Faculty of Sports Sciences, physical education and sports teaching department. In the study, the metaphorical perceptions of the 1. grade students studying in the department of physical education and sports teaching, and coaching education in the fall semester of the 2021-2022 academic year regarding the concept of "Career and Sports" were examined by qualitative data collection method. In the study, data were collected after the participants completed the statements “Career is like … because…” and “Sport is like … because…”. By using the word "like" in the metaphor, an attempt was made to establish a connection between the subject and the source, and the phrase "because" was asked to be completed to obtain other information. In the study, phenomenological design and qualitative research techniques were used. For the solution and explanation of metaphors, the study was performed by revealing the metaphors, classifying the metaphors, categorizing them, and determining their validity and reliability. As a result of the information gathered, the participants wrote 42 metaphors in 7 categories following 60 themes related to the concept of career, and they wrote 43 metaphors in 5 categories following 60 themes for the concept of sports. As a result, when the metaphorical perceptions of university students towards the concepts of career and sports were investigated, it was seen that the students had the most variability category for the concept of "career" and the psychological impact categories for the concept of "sports."