Abstract

The main aim of this study is to investigate the perceptions of students who participate in sports organizations in universities regarding the term “sports”. With this main aim, the perception of the term was explained by metaphors. The study group includes 108 female and 112 male volunteer students, who studied in various departments of Adıyaman University during the 2017-2018 education period. For the data collection tools in the study, a short personal information form and the form that asks to complete the sentence, “Sports are like … Because …” In the data analysis, with the SPSS 24.00 package software, individual variables were classified and four steps were followed in the analysis of the metaphors. These steps are naming the metaphors, elimination and refinement, compilation and categorization, and the findings were obtained by validity and reliability analyses. As a result of the research, it was determined that 88.7% of the students who participated in sports organizations in universities developed positive metaphors while 11.3 developed negative metaphors. Additionally, it was concluded that these metaphors created significant differences according to students’ genders, and the departments and programs of study. As a result of the study, it can be concluded that university students participating in sports activities voluntarily have a perception of “sports” as improving health, regarding as a profession and gaining social prestige and this result affects their future life positively.

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