Part of
Elicited Metaphor Analysis in Educational DiscourseEdited by Wan Wan and Graham Low
[Metaphor in Language, Cognition, and Communication 3] 2015
► pp. 39–64
Edited by Wan Wan and Graham Low
[Metaphor in Language, Cognition, and Communication 3] 2015
► pp. 39–64
Methodological approaches and strategies for elicited metaphor-based research
A critical review
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive review of the methodological approaches and strategies used in elicited metaphor research. Thirty six selected articles were first grouped by their purpose of using elicited metaphors: (a) use of metaphors as a methodological tool to understand teacher beliefs, knowledge and practice and (b) use of metaphors as an intervention tool to improve teachers’ professional knowledge or practice. Then, individual studies within each purpose group were analyzed in depth in terms of metaphor elicitation methods and analysis methods. Based on the analysis, we discuss methodological issues associated with metaphor research. Suggestions for resolving these issues are also discussed, focusing on the validity of metaphor elicitation, analysis techniques, and the trustworthiness of metaphor research. We suggest that researchers pay more attention to the use of multiple elicitation methods, clarity of data analysis procedures, and application of various strategies to establish the trustworthiness. We also call for a broader research effort to use metaphors as an intervention tool, beyond simply a methodological tool to improve teachers’ professional knowledge or teaching practice.
References (62)
Abell, S.K., Bryan, L.A., & Anderson, M.A. (1998). Investigating preservice elementary science teacher reflective thinking using integrated media casebased instruction in elementary science teacher preparation. Science Education, 82, 491–509. 
Alger, C. (2009). Secondary teachers’ conceptual metaphors of teaching and learning: Changes over the career span. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25, 743–751.
Armstrong, S.L., Davis, H., & Paulson, E.J. (2011). The subjectivity problem: Improving triangulation approaches in metaphor analysis studies. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 10(2), 151–163.
Barnett, J., & Hodson, D. (2000). Pedagogical context knowledge: Toward a fuller understanding of what good science teachers know. Science Education, 85, 426–453.
Bendixen, L.D., Hofer, B.K., & Pintrich, P.R. (2002). A process model of epistemic belief change. In B.K. Hofer & P.R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 191–208). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Ben-Peretz, M., Mendelson, N., & Kron, F.W. (2003). How teachers in different educational contexts view their roles. Teaching and Teacher Education, 19, 277–290.
Borko, H., & Putnam, R.T. (1996). Learning to teach. In D.C. Berliner & R.C. Calfee (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (pp. 673–708). New York: Macmillan.
Brickhouse, N.W. (1989). The teaching of the philosophy of science in secondary classrooms: Case studies of teachers’ personal theories. International Journal of Science Education, 11, 437–449.
Bryan, L.A. (2003). Nestedness of beliefs: Examining a prospective elementary teacher’s belief system about science teaching and learning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40, 835–868.
Bullough, R.V. (1991). Exploring personal teaching metaphors in preservice teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 42, 43–51.
Bullough, R.V., & Stokes, D.K. (1994). Analyzing personal teaching metaphors as a means of encouraging professional development. American Educational Research Journal, 31, 197–224.
Carlson, T.B. (2001). Using metaphors to enhance reflectiveness among preservice teachers. Journal of Physical Education & Dance, 72(1), 49–53.
Cobb, P., & Bowers, J. (1999). Cognitive and situative learning perspectives in theory and practice. Educational Researcher, 28(2), 4–15.
Creswell, J.W., & Miller, D.L. (2000). Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory into Practice, 39(3), 124–130.
Feldman, A. (2002). Multiple perspectives for the study of teaching: Knowledge, reason, understanding, and being. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 39, 1032–1055.
Garrick, J. (1999). Doubting the philosophical assumptions of interpretive research. Qualitative Studies in Education, 12, 147–156.
Gurney, B.F. (1995). Tugboats and tennis games: Preservice conceptions of teaching and learning revealed through metaphors. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 32, 569–583.
Greeno, J.G., Collins, A.M., & Resnik, L.B. (1996). Cognition and learning. In D.C. Berliner & R.C. Calfee (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (pp. 15–46). New York: Simon & Shuster Macmillan.
Grossman, P.L., Wilson, S.M., & Shulman, L.S. (1989). Teachers of substance: Subject matter knowledge for teaching. In M.C. Reynolds (Ed.), Knowledge base for the beginning teacher (pp. 23–36). New York: Pergamon.
Guerrero, M.C.M. de, & Villamil, O.S. (2002). Metaphorical conceptualization of ESL teaching and learning. Language Teaching Research, 6, 95–120.
Harré, R., & van Langenhoven, L. (1998). Positioning theory: Moral contexts of professional action. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Kagan, D.M. (1992). Professional growth among preservice beginning teachers. Review of Educational Research, 62, 129–169.
Koro-Ljungberg, M. (2004). Displacing metaphorical analysis: Reading with and against metaphors. Qualitative Research, 4, 339–360.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980/2003). Metaphors we live by. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Leavy, A.M., McSorley, F.A., & Boté, L.A. (2007). An examination of what metaphor construction reveals about the evolution of preservice teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23, 1217–1233.
Lincoln, Y.S., & Guba, E.G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Mahlios, M., & Maxson, M. (1995). Capturing preservice teachers’ beliefs about schooling, life, and childhood. Journal of Teacher Education, 46, 192–199.
Marshall, H.H. (1990). Metaphor as an instructional tool in encouraging student teacher reflection. Theory into Practice, 29, 128–132.
Martinez, M., Sauleda, N., & Huber, G. (2001). Metaphors as blueprints of thinking about teaching and learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(8), 965–967.
McGrath, I. (2006). Using insights from teachers’ metaphors. Journal of Education for Teaching, 32, 303–317.
Merriam, S.B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Munby, H. (1986). Metaphor in the thinking of teachers: An exploratory study. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 18, 197–209.
Munby, H., & Russell, T. (1990). Metaphor in the study of teachers’ professional knowledge. Theory and Practice, 29, 116–121.
Noyes, A. (2006). Using metaphor in mathematics teacher preparation. Teaching and Teacher Education, 22, 898–909.
Pajares, M.F. (1992). Teachers’ beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 62, 307–332.
Patton, M.Q. (2001). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Pinnergar, S., Mangelson, J., Reed, M., & Groves, S. (2011). Exploring preservice teachers’ metaphor plotlines. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27, 639–647.
Richardson, V. (1996). The role of attitudes and beliefs in learning to teach. In J. Sikula (Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher education (pp. 102–119). New York: Macmillan.
Ritchie, S.M. (1994). Metaphor as a tool for constructivist science teaching. International Journal of Science Education, 16, 293–303.
Russell, T., Munby, H., Spafford, C., & Johnston, P. (1988). Learning the professional knowledge of teaching: Metaphors, puzzles, and the theory-practice relationship. In P. Grimett & G. Erickson (Eds.), Reflection in teacher education (pp. 67–89). New York: Teachers College Press.
Saban, A. (2004). Prospective classroom teachers’ metaphorical images of selves and comparing them to those they have of their elementary and cooperating teachers. International Journal of Educational Development, 24, 617–635.
. (2010). Prospective teachers’ metaphorical conceptualizations of learner. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26, 290–305.
Saban, A., Kocbeker, B.N., & Saban, A. (2006). An investigation of the concept of teacher among prospective teachers through metaphor analysis. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 6(2), 509–522.
Schön, D.A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books.
. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Seung, E., Park, S., & Narayan, R. (2011). Exploring elementary preservice teachers’ beliefs about science teaching and learning as revealed in their metaphor writing. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 20, 703–714.
Sfard, A. (1998). On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just one. Educational Researcher, 27(2), 4–13.
Sillman, K., & Dana, T. (2011). Metaphor: A tool for promoting prospective elementary teachers’ participation in science teacher learning. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 12, 87–2001.
Snow, R.E. (1973). Theory construction for research on teaching. In R.M.W. Travers (Ed.), Second handbook of research on teaching (pp. 77–112). Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.
Stake, R. (2000). Case studies. In N.K. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 435–454). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Open coding. In A. Strauss & J. Corbin (Eds.), Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques (2nd ed.) (pp. 101–121). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Strugielska, A. (2008). Coherence relations and concept dynamic in learners’ personal theories. Vigo International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 5, 107–129.
Sumsion, J. (2002). Becoming, being and unbecoming an early childhood educator: A phenomenological case study of teacher attrition. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(7), 869–885.
Tobin, K. (1990). Teacher mind frames and science learning. In K. Tobin, J.B. Kahle, & B.J. Fraser (Eds.), Windows into science classrooms: Problems associated with higher-level cognitive learning (pp. 33–91). London: Falmer Press.
Tobin, K., & LaMaster, S.U. (1995). Relationship between metaphors, beliefs, and actions in a context of science curriculum change. Journal of Research in Science Education, 32(3), 225–242.
Thomas, L., & Beauchamp, C. (2011). Understanding new teachers’ professional identifies through metaphor. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27, 762–769.
Wan, W. (2011). An examination of the validity of metaphor analysis studies: Problems with metaphor elicitation techniques. Metaphor and the Social World, 1(2), 262–288.
. (2012). Using metaphorical conceptualisation to construct and develop ESL students’ writing: An exploratory study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Dept. of Education, University of York.
Weade, R., & Ernst, G. (1990). Pictures of life in classrooms, and the search for metaphors to frame them. Theory into Practice, 29, 133–140.
Wilkinson, D., & Birmingham, P. (2003). Using research instruments: A guide for researchers. New York: Routledge Falmer.
Zapata, G.C., & Lacorte, M. (2007). Preservice and inservice instructors’ metaphorical constructions of second language teachers. Foreign Language Annals, 40(3), 521–534.
Cited by (11)
Cited by 11 other publications
Geng, Yanchuan, Xiaoxue Zhu & Ashley Yoon Mooi Ng
2024. Teacher wellbeing in the Chinese Universities of the Third Age: An elicited metaphor analysis. Educational Gerontology ► pp. 1 ff. 
Moody, Stephanie M. & Bethany Rice
2024. Writing Conferences Are Like the Big Bad Wolf: Metaphors As Critical Reflection for Preservice Teachers. Action in Teacher Education ► pp. 1 ff.
Naghavian, Mohammad
2024. English learners’ beliefs about L2 speaking fluency: Insights from elicited metaphor analysis. The Modern Language Journal 108:3 ► pp. 719 ff.
Ewertowska, Tanya, Katherine Ravenswood & Julie Douglas
2023. Centring participant voices through metaphor in employment relations research. Labour and Industry ► pp. 1 ff.
Nacey, Susan
2023. Systematic Metaphors in Norwegian Doctoral Dissertation Acknowledgements. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 67:5 ► pp. 679 ff.
Frizelle, Kerry
2021. Using personal history to (re)envision a praxis of critical hope in the face of neoliberal fatalism. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 34:5 ► pp. 395 ff.
Leung, Jessica Shuk Ching, Kennedy Kam Ho Chan & Tracy Cuiling He
2021. Student teachers’ metaphorical conceptualisations of the experience of watching themselves and their peers on video. Educational Studies 47:3 ► pp. 257 ff.
Martin Hard, Bridgette, Nathan Liang, Michelle Wong & Stephen J. Flusberg
Mellado, Lucía, Laura Parte, Susana Sánchez-Herrera & María Luisa Bermejo
2021. Evolution of Prospective Secondary Education Economics Teachers’ Personal and Emotional Metaphors. Frontiers in Psychology 12
Wegner, Elisabeth, Christian Burkhart & Matthias Nückles
2021. The Short-Term Reliability of Metaphors as an Assessment Method. Frontiers in Education 6
Wan, Wan & Sarah Turner
2018. Applying metaphor analysis to academic literacy research. Metaphor and the Social World 8:2 ► pp. 286 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 19 september 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.