Metaphors in Anti-Bias Educational Program : Educators ’ Voices

Bu arastirmada olgu bilim deseni kullanilarak ogretim uyelerinin, okul oncesi ogretmenlerinin ve okul oncesi ogretmen adaylarinin Ayrimcilik Karsiti Egitim Programlarina (AKEP) yonelik metaforlarinin incelenmesi amaclanmistir. Arastirmanin calisma grubunu, 17 universitenin Egitim Fakultesi Okul Oncesi Ogretmenligi Anabilim Dali’nda gorev yapan 22 ogretim uyesi, ve bu universitelerin Okul Oncesi Ogretmenligi Anabilim Dallari’nin 4. siniflarinda okuyan 71 okul oncesi ogretmen adayi, 9 farkli ilden 36 okul oncesi ogretmeni olmak uzere toplam 129 katilimci olusturmustur. Arastirmanin verileri arastirmacilar tarafindan olusturulan anket formu araciligi ile toplanmistir. Katilimcilardan elde edilen veriler, icerik analizi yontemi kullanilarak analiz edilmistir. Yapilan analizlerde, katilimcilarin AKEP’ e yonelik urettikleri metaforlar incelenmis ve bu metaforlara iliskin kategoriler olusturulmustur. Katilimcilarin demografik ozelliklerine gore metaforlarindaki farkliliklar incelenmistir. Arastirma sonucunda, AKEP’e yonelik ogretim uyelerinin 17, ogretmenlerin 28 ve ogretmen adaylarinin 30 farkli metafor urettikleri gorulmustur. Ogretim uyelerinin gelistirdikleri metaforlarin uzmanlik alani ve cinsiyete, ogretmen adaylarinin gelistirdikleri metaforlarin yasa ve cinsiyete, ogretmenlerin ise; hizmet suresi, gorev yaptigi okul turu, ogrenim durumu ve yasa gore farklilik gostermistir.


Introduction
Bias is the victimization of individuals who are subjected to mistreatment by others because of his/her religion, gender, race, political opinion, disability, or different ethnic origin.Individuals exposed to bias cannot participate in society on equal terms with others.The Anti-Bias Education Program (ABEP), which was born as a reaction to social injustice in educational institutions, began in the 1950s and was formalized in 1989 by Derman-Sparks and ABC Task Force (Duman, 2013).ABEP's purpose is to educate individuals, attaching utmost importance to multi-cultural and individual differences to enable people to coexist peacefully (Derman-Sparks & Olsen, 2010).
ABEP criticizes the inequality of race, culture, and gender; it accepts without any prejudice the characters and individual differences of children and families all over the world through a global approach.Rosenzweign (1998) defends the Anti-Bias Education Programs based on critical education and social cognitive theories.The critical education theory raises objections to the social inequalities in informal education, whereas social cognitive theory analyses how children structure their own and others' identities by associating them with their social and moral information (Üner, 2011).
It is emphasized that for children to have a critical point of view, they must coexist and interact in an environment where they attach importance to different individuals or groups (Davis, 1995;Garcia, 1997;Hoare, 1991;Mills, McGrath, Sobkoviak & Stupec, 1995).In such environments, children develop their self-identities and empathy skills and, at the same time, they meet children with different characteristics.As children get to know the individuals in an educational environment better, they start to communicate with them more easily and feel safer (Plant & Devine, 1998).These developments are in parallel with the main objectives of the Anti-Bias Education Program indicated by Derman-Sparks and Olsen (2010).The program aims at promoting social, emotional, and cognitive development of children; provision of opportunities to better understand cultural and social diversity; acquisition of resistance to bias as an individual or in a group; and provision of applications ensuring real life situations as regards with understanding injustice and resistance to injustice (Derman-Sparks & Olsen, 2010).
Researchers emphasize that ABEP must be implemented during infancy and early childhood (Levy, 1997).Children learn about differences and develop empathy skills in the first three years of their lives (Brewer, 2006).Children in early childhood are quite sensitive to the social classes emphasizing differences of race and gender (Katz, 2003;Ramsey, 1991).The more distant children are to the antibias concepts, the more difficult it is for them to associate with these concepts and their derivatives.For this reason, ABEP includes practical applications for the infants with the individuals and groups in their environments with different cultures.Through these applications, children are shown that there are many different ways of lives, perspectives, and confrontation of problems (Thorman, 2002).
Among the basic components of ABEP is an instructor preparing activities appropriate for cognitive levels of children, opposing biased behaviors and having a fair classroom management approach.Instructors, first of all, address and eliminate their own prejudices and biases, and then offer a setting where children can clearly explore similarities and differences between people with different races, cultures, and physical and mental skills (Carter & Rice, 1997;McGregor, 1993;Ramsey & Derman-Sparks, 1992).According to National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), an early childhood instructor must create environments that improve children's self-identities and integrate the applications appropriate for their development in the program taking into account their sex, race, culture, family experiences, religion, and capabilities (NAEYC, 2009).In this context, the mission assumed by early childhood instructors is in parallel with the mission of ABEP's instructors.
There were no findings to suggest the existence of ABEP applications or any other relevant applications in Turkey (Güven, 2005).When the researches in the national and international literature on AKEP were examined, it was found that no national researches on the subject were found and few international researches were conducted (Katz, 2003;Killoran et al., 2004;Lin, 2008;Simangan, 2012).This research seems very important in terms of attracting attention to this issue as it is the first research on anti discrimination education programs in our country.This research, which is thought to contribute to the national and international literature, is aimed to explore faculty members' who are from the Education Faculty Pre-school Education Departments, preschool teacher candidates' and preschool teachers' metaphors for AKEP concept. .
• What are the metaphors of ABEP concept created by faculty members?
• What are the metaphors of ABEP concept created by preschool teachers?
• What are the metaphors of ABEP concept created by fourth-grade students?
• Do these metaphors differ in terms of other variables (service time, age, gender, and field of expertise)?

Research Design
This research employed phenomenological pattern that focuses on the phenomenon of which people are aware but do not have an in-depth and detailed understanding.The phenomenological method is appropriate for research looking into a phenomenon that is not entirely unfamiliar but cannot be fully understood.This method generally aims to present and interpret individual differences in relation to a phenomenon (Yildirim & Simsek, 2008).Within the context of this research, the perceptions of faculty members, preschool teachers, and undergraduate students on ABEP were identified and interpreted.

Study Group
This research's working group was chosen through a purposive sampling method.The working group comprised 129 participants: 22 faculty members working in 17 different universities in Adana, Kirikkale, Balikesir, Muğla, İstanbul, Muş, Ankara, Bolu, and Kütahya provinces, 71 students studying at the fourthgrade preschool teaching departments of these universities, and 36 teachers working in different preschool institutions.

Data Collection Tools
This research used a questionnaire consisting of two parts for the data collection.The first part of the questionnaire included questions on demographic information of the working group, whereas the second part contained statements such as "The Anti-Bias Education Program is…because…" to be completed in writing by the participants in an effort to determine the metaphors the participants possessed in relation to ABEP.An example of a metaphor about the purpose of working in the form and the definition of the metaphor and a different topic are provided so that the content can be understood correctly by the participants.Working group members are from different cities and countries, so the questionnaire was sent and recollected from the working group via email.

Data Analysis
Data were obtained through questionnaires completed by the working group.The first part of the form was analyzed to summarize the demographic information of the participants.(See tables in the findings sections of this research.)The metaphors written by the participants in the second part was read and digitalized; a content analysis was conducted afterwards.The categories based on the data were created for the obtained metaphors that were used to demonstrate the perceptions on the concept of ABEP.The frequency digits pertaining to these categories created through the metaphors were calculated.Whether the category types identifying the concept of ABEP varied in terms of a characteristics of participants was calculated and the findings were interpreted.
In order to ensure the internal reliability of the study, the data obtained from the participants were compared with the content analyses conducted by four of the researchers to see whether similar comments were made similarly and whether similar results were achieved.In the reliability study of the study, the percentage of incompatibility calculated by the formula of Reliability = Opinion Union / (Opinion Union + Opinion Separation) and developed by Miles and Huberman (1994) was used.As a result of the cross-coding performed by the surveys, the percentage of agreement was calculated as .87.Miles and Huberman (1994) argue that scores above 70.00% is the indication for reliability.
When analyzing the data of the study, the following steps were completed:  The collected data were checked to see if they were left complete and the incorrect or incomplete data were withdrawn (2 teachers and 3 teacher candidates)  The data collected from the participants were separated as teaching members, teacher and teacher candidates, and a number was assigned (O1, OA1 and OU1 etc.).
 The written data were transferred to the computer environment and the connections between the used metaphor and the content were examined in terms of meaning.
 Categories were analyzed for metaphorical similarities in terms of meaning.
 Generated categories were tabulated and metaphors placed in categories were grouped.At this stage, both the expert opinion and the credibility of the encoder were examined.

Findings
Descriptive analyses of the data obtained through the metaphor form demonstrated the perceptions of the faculty members, teachers, and on ABEP.Table 4 shows the perceptions of the participating faculty members on ABEP.When Table 4 is examined, it is seen that the experts related to child development and education from academic members are more concentrated under the categories of "equality of rights and program content".The metaphor of preschoolers' "respect for equality and differences in education" while the metaphors of specialist teaching staff in the field of first reading and writing education appear to be in the categories of "equality of rights, respect for differences and human rights".The metaphors created by the specialist in education programs and teaching are in the human rights category.
The metaphors in the "Equality in Education" category used by the lecturers are "stars, doors, umbrellas".Some of the reasons for the metaphors used by the instructors are as follows: Using the metaphor of the stars, OU8 and OU1 respectively: "Education should be visible to all children wherever they are, like a star.At the same time, all children should be included.All children, like the brightness of the stars, must illuminate under the same roof ". "An anti-bias education program should provide equal opportunities for all children and aim to provide opportunities for all children to benefit from education and to support their participation in education".
Using the door metaphor, OU21: "Education should be anti-bias and should open doors for all children.However, equal education opportunities can be provided for children with an open education for all children ".Participant faculty members used the metaphor of "holistic program, torch and guide" in the program content category.Some of the explanations of these metaphors used by the lecturers are: Using the holistic program metaphor, OU12: "The anti-bias education program can only be a practice that covers all children with a holistic approach.Religion must be a structure accessible to all children without language or race discrimination ".
Using the metaphor of the sun, OU19: "From the sun, all living things benefit equally as well as their needs.This program is also a cover and everybody takes advantage of individual features and differences.The program should be organized accordingly ".
The metaphors included in the "equality of rights" category used by the lecturers are "Bridge, rainbow, water and wealth".Some of the reasons for the metaphors used by the instructors are as follows: Using rainbow metaphor, OU2: "All children and all nations must have equal rights.I believe that implementing anti-bias training programs can ensure that everyone has the same rights.This consciousness has to be earned and be fair for all young ages ".
Using the wealth metaphor, OU13: "If equality of rights is seen as wealth, and efforts are made all together, it will be possible for future generations to be more successful in all areas of life.At this point there are important tasks for teachers and families ".
The metaphors in the category "Respect diversity" used by the lecturers are "Bridge, diversity and color".Some of the reasons for the metaphors used by the instructors are as follows: Using bridge metaphor, OU4: "An anti-bias education program serves as a bridge between individuals with different languages, religions, traits and needs, and ensures that all individuals respect each other and see differences as richness." Using color metaphor, OU6: "The difference must be perceived as color and it should not be forgotten that there are many colors of the world.These programs need to prevent discrimination and to respect the individual characteristics of each other." The metaphors included in the "Human rights" category used by the lecturers are "Life, necessity and need".Some of the reasons for the metaphors used by the instructors are as follows: Using the metaphor of life, OU17: "Just as all individuals have the right to live, the abolition of discrimination is a fundamental right in life".
Using the metaphor of necessity, OU20: "Under the human rights treaty, all individuals have rights and it is imperative that discrimination be prevented in order to have access to these rights".
In Table 5, the metaphors for the ABEP from the teacher candidates are presented.
When Table 5 is examined, it is seen that the metaphor used by the age group of 20-24 is mostly in the category of "Equality in Education" and the majority of these participants are women.
It is understood that participants aged 25-29 produce predominantly metaphors in the category of "equality in education and program content".When we look at the categorization of the metaphors used in terms of gender, it is seen that female participants use metaphors in the categories of "respect for equality and differences in education".
The metaphors included in the category "Equality in Education" used are "Peace, wealth, kite, value, fruit cake, table, clock, water, opportunity, sun and need.Some of the reasons the teacher candidates have expressed about the metaphors they use are as follows: Teacher candidates using the metaphor for peace are OA3, OA62 respectively: "In order for children to live in peace, they must benefit from education equally and access to education".
"Because an anti-bias program takes every individual, regardless of religion, language, race, gender, social class, and provides everyone with peaceful education in equal opportunities." Use the fruitcake metaphor Teacher candidate, OA27:

"The anti-bias training program is a colorful variety like fruit cake and is a program that all children can enjoy."
Teacher candidate using value metaphor, OA42: "Education should make all children feel valuable and include all children in the educational environment, despite all their differences and impossibilities".
The teacher candidate using the wealth metaphor, OA15, OA19: "If teachers see different children and families as wealth, then no children are left out in education"."Sex discrimination is seen all over the world.The fact that girls are important and valuable also enriches education ".
Metaphors included in "Program content" category used are "Wheel, pizza, puzzle, peaceful application, imagination, training to be taken".Some of the reasons the teacher candidates about the metaphors they used are as follows: Teacher candidate using wheel metaphor, OA28: "In education, children should be provided with the activities they want, such as the wheel system, in the direction of their own preferences." Candidate teacher using the education metaphor information, OA36: "Because the program to be implemented must be appropriate for all religion, culture and sex children, and encourage the participation of all.With such programs, children will not be concerned about themselves and their families, but will learn to be proud of themselves and their families, as well as learn to respect different cultures.Children who grow up in this way will be more peaceful in their future work life and social life, and will build healthier relationships." Teacher candidate using the metaphor of peaceful application, OA33: "In order to create a more peaceful, happy and livable social life while living a common life with others, one has to educate his own soul and increase his acceptance.The program should include activities that support it ".
Teacher candidate using pizza metaphor, OA31: "In the educational process, it is imperative that the program include and monitor individual differences of people in a way that is not a positive or negative variable".
Metaphor included in the category "Multiculturalism" used are "kite, pizza, wet cake and rainbow ".Some of the explanations of the teacher candidates regarding the metaphors they use are as follows: Teacher candidate using kite metaphor, OA63: "It is important for education that all cultures, like a colorful kite, coexist, when people are evaluated as a whole, not by separating the different qualities found in people, but between people." Teacher candidate using rainbow metaphor, OA51: "All the colors of the rainbow are alive and make it look more beautiful.The diversity and cultural richness of people also make education more beautiful".
The metaphors included in the "respect for differences" category used are "tolerance, pomegranate, ice cream and mosaic".Some of the explanations are as follows: Using the mosaic metaphor, OA48: "It is important to find the right balance in education and to ensure the continuity of personal rights and legal rules.There must be regular and diverse applications such as mosaics for this." Table 6 lists the categories created for teachers' ABEP metaphors.As seen in Table 6, when the answers given by the teachers are analyzed based on the duration of vocational service, It is seen that most of the teachers who have 1-5 years and 6-10 years of service use metaphors in the category of "equality in education".Teachers who have more than 20 years of professional service experience use the metaphor of "respect for differences".There are no significant differences in the distribution of categorizations according to age and education status of the institution employed.
Metaphors in the category of "Equality in education" used are "easy access, genderless, world, freedom, kite, lamp, visa-free, umbrella, pizza, ocean, mosaic, paving stones, open door, window, sky, spot".Some of the explanations that teachers express about the metaphors are as follows: Teacher using ocean metaphor, O11: "Because people like diversity in the ocean.We must be sensitive and understanding to differences.Everyone should be equal and benefit from education equally ".
The metaphors in the "Respect for differences" category used by teachers are "ghost, pool, respect (3), diversity, wealth".Some of the explanations about the metaphors are as follows: Teacher using the metaphor of respect, O31: "Anti-bias programs primarily teach that individuals respect each other and love each other with all their differences.Societies where more respectful individuals are educated will be more peaceful ".

Teacher using mosaic metaphor, O8:
"Different parts of the mosaic are different in humans, and they are unique.It is important to see the differences and to use the right to education and life for a respectful, happy life.This can only be achieved with equal educational opportunities"

Discussion, Conclusion and Implications
Research carried out in relation to the anti-bias educational program generally focus on concepts with respect to differences, self-identity, protecting oneself and others against bias, empathic interaction, economy, politics, gender, disability, and ethnic and cultural diversity (Bisson & Derman-Sparks, 1992;Swadener & Miller, 1993).The metaphors preferred by the faculty members, teachers, and teacher candidates participating in the working group of this research are in parallel with the relevant literature; however, these metaphors are mainly centered on concepts such as equality in education, equality of rights, and equality of opportunities.Vandenbroeck ( 2007) emphasizes that political and economic elements are determinant in ensuring that children benefit equally from education.The metaphors used by the participants in the working group have not provided any findings in relation to the economic and political dimension of bias.As such, the faculty members, teachers, and teacher candidates might have no perception that the economic and political dimensions may lead to bias or they do not think these dimensions are of priority in bias.Education, which is among the most significant elements in the development of countries and enhancing social welfare, must be provided equally without any bias across the country or among regions (Sarıer, 2010).Equality in education necessitates that both women and men are provided with equal opportunities for education; people, whether with disabilities or not, are provided with the education appropriate for their needs without any bias based on religion, language, race, social, and economic status.Equality in education is among the objectives of the anti-bias educational program.The fact that educators apply content by integrating them into the program and that the governmental policies and societies are shaped accordingly will ensure that the program objectives are attained (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 1999).The most important task in this regard also falls on the shoulders of the educational system.Through education, people must learn to accept and tolerate different cultures and educational systems must be shaped in a way that values and respects differences (Aydın, 2013).'Equality of opportunities' and 'respect for diversity' metaphors widely used by the working group in this research and their explanations on these metaphors are in parallel with the objectives of the anti-bias education program.Surprisingly, participants in the working group have not put forward metaphors about common issues in Turkey such as sexist attitude, status of disabled people, or ethnic and cultural diversity despite the fact that it is a multicultural nation.Sadioğlu, Bilgin, Batu and Oksal (2013) found that teachers providing mainstreaming applications need expert support and their level of knowledge is not adequate.Gök and Erba (2011) found that preschool teachers believe that the visually-and mentally-impaired children must not be included in mainstreaming education, and children in other disabled groups must be included in the process as much as they could.
The multiculturalism-related research of Günay, Aydın and Koç-Damgacı (2014) focused on the metaphoric perceptions of academicians working in education faculties.They found that academicians have positive views relating to multicultural education.Meanwhile, Damgacı (2013) pointed out that certain academicians have negative perceptions about multicultural education as they think this type of education must be provided by specialists and, if not, this could undermine the integrity of the nation.
Derman-Sparks and Edwards (2010) express that children can observe differences between people through observations and perceive verbal and nonverbal messages (racism, sexism, etc.) regarding these differences.The differences perceived by children could affect their respective roles and self-esteem.For example, a four-year-old boy opposing his girlfriend that 'girls cannot drive buses' or a boy's warning his girlfriend who is trying to climb up a tree that 'girls cannot climb up trees' can be cited as blatant examples of gender bias prevailing in society.Bailey (1992) specified in his research that teachers treat girls and boys differently.They expect girls to be orderly, calm, and quiet, whereas they expect boys to be independent, active, and talkative.Although many examples of gender bias exist in present-day society (e.g. the failure of parents to send their daughters to educational institutions uninterruptedly, the roles that society deems appropriate for girls and boys, and women-men bias made for certain professions), no findings relating to the concept of gender were revealed in the metaphors used by faculty members, teachers, and teacher candidates.
The integration of the anti-bias educational programs in the United States into the undergraduate education enables diversity of perceptions of teachers and, at the same time, different opinions start to be put forward (Hyun et al., 2001).In European countries, especially until the 19th century, the view of one language and one society was promoted; differences were estranged; and a homogeneous structure was targeted.With industrialization, immigration to especially Belgium, France, and West Germany the adoption of multiculturalism was required over time.However, southern European countries such as Italy and Spain used their own workforce and tried to maintain their homogeneous structures.Within this context, it was only in the beginning of the 1990s when anti-bias educational programs started to be applied and regarded as necessity by researchers, educators, and politicians in Europe (Vandenbroeck, 2014).
The right for education, equality of opportunities, and equality of rights stipulated in the basic principles of Turkish National Education and Children's Rights Declaration affect the perceptions of educators; they direct the metaphors used by them.This research and the findings of previous research indicate that integration of ABEP into the national policies is required and that national educational program must be revisited accordingly.

Table 1 .
Demographic Information about Faculty Members.

Table 2 .
Demographic Information about Teachers.

Table 3 .
Demographic Information about Teacher Candidates.

Table 4 .
Faculty Members' Metaphors and Created Categories for ABEP.

Table 5 .
Teacher Candidates' Metaphors and Created Categories for ABEP.

Table 6 .
Teachers' Metaphors and Created Categories for ABEP.