5th and 6th grade students' perceptions of communication

Abstract

This study aims to examine how 5th and 6th grade students perceive the phenomenon of communication. It was designed as a qualitative research and the phenomenological method was used. Totally, 80 students constituted the study group. A two-part "Communication Perception Form" was created by the researchers in order to determine the perceptions of the students regarding the phenomenon of communication. Content analysis technique was used in evaluating the data obtained in this study. Data on the phenomenon of communication were gathered among five categories (nature, emotion, food, existence, tool/mediator). In the visual metaphors of the students, it was seen that they drew telephone and talking people mostly. The metaphors developed by the 5th and 6th graders, which are the first levels of secondary school, can be considered as important indicators for understanding the positive and negative effects of communication on students. In this study, where communication generally evokes speech or correspondence, it can be suggested that students acquire this skill in various fields through programs, since it is seen that students make more in-depth descriptions in visual expression.