Exploring Young Minds: Metaphorical Conceptualizations of Core Values among Primary School Students

Abstract

Values education plays a central role in the formation of moral character during primary schooling; however, limited research has examined how children cognitively conceptualize core human values in early educational settings. This study investigates how primary school students metaphorically represent the ten core values defined in the Turkish national curriculum justice, friendship, honesty, self-control, patience, respect, love, responsibility, patriotism, and benevolence. The research employed a qualitative design based on metaphor analysis. Data were collected using open-ended prompts inviting students to explain each value through metaphorical expressions, and the responses were analyzed through a systematic procedure including metaphor identification, source-domain coding, thematic categorization, inter-rater reliability checks, and the use of representative quotations to illustrate conceptual patterns. The findings reveal that children predominantly interpret values through concrete, observable behaviors embedded in everyday social interactions. Relationship-oriented values such as love, friendship, and respect were largely grounded in family-centered and interpersonal metaphors, whereas self-regulatory moral values such as responsibility, self-control, patience, and honesty were primarily expressed through metaphors related to behavioral regulation and everyday duties. Patriotism was conceptualized mainly as emotional attachment to national symbols rather than as active civic engagement, reflecting an affective orientation toward national belonging. Overall, the results suggest that during primary education, values are not yet internalized as abstract moral frameworks but are constructed cognitively through lived experiences, relational contexts, and socially modeled behaviors. By revealing how children interpret values through metaphorical thinking, this study contributes to the literature on values education and highlights the importance of experiential and socio-emotional pedagogical approaches that align with children’s developmental characteristics.