Using Metaphor Analysis to Explore High School Students' Attitudes Towards Learning Mathematics

In this study, the attitudes of Anatolian high school and vocational high school students towards learning mathematics were examined by using the metaphor analysis method. The study included 669 12th grade students (317 female, 352 male) of two Anatolian and two vocational high schools located in a city center in the Aegean region of Turkey. The study examined whether students' attitudes towards learning mathematics varied according to the type of high school and gender; and whether they used different metaphors to describe their mathematics learning experiences. It was found that vocational high school students had more negative attitudes than Anatolian high school students towards learning mathematics. Gender did not affect students' attitudes towards mathematics.