See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/301705592

Understanding teachers’ attitude toward educational reforms through

metaphors

Article  in  International Journal of Educational Research · December 2016

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijer.2016.03.008

CITATIONS READS

12 1,353

1 author:

Orit Avidov-Ungar
Achva Academic College
42 PUBLICATIONS   276 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Science teacher education View project

Technology integration into education systems View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Orit Avidov-Ungar on 31 December 2017.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 International Journal of Educational Research 77 (2016) 117–127

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Educational Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijedures

Understanding teachers’ attitude toward educational reforms

through metaphors
Orit Avidov Ungar
School of Education, Achva Academic College, P.M. Sikmim, Israel

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Article history:
Received 23 January 2016 This qualitative study examines what representations of metaphors are held by teachers
Accepted 29 March 2016 and how those representations express teachers’ positions about change through
Available online xxx educational reform. Metaphors indicate that teachers hold negative perceptions toward
educational reforms. Findings signify the contradictions between what teachers are
Keywords: expecting and what they are experiencing in their everyday reality during educational
Educational reforms reforms. The study present four “types” of teachers differing from each other how they
Metaphors experience and deal with the reforms. All four “types” of teachers strongly believe that
Teachers’ attitude
extensive reform is needed, but each need different supports to lead the change.
Qualitative research
ã 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Our modern age is characterized by a great desire to change (Priestley, 2011). Education systems all around the world are
constantly changing under the pressures to improve, innovate and supply evidence of higher achievements (Day & Smethem,
2009; Fullan, 2011; Luttenberg, Carpay, & Veugelers, 2013; Priestley, 2011), through systemic reforms which are usually
planned in advance. In many countries, schools are now expected to deal with additional functions that were once in the
absolute domains of family, religion or work (Thomas & Beauchamp, 2011).
Fullan (2011) defines ideal educational reform as deriving from the goal of “raising the bar for all students and closing the
gap for lower performing groups”, equipping them with the “skills and abilities required to be successful world citizens”
(Fullan, 2011; p.4). However, Day and Smethem (2009) highlight that reforms may not always lead to renewal and when
forced by governments may raise resistance among those supposed to implement them in the field. Intrinsic motivation,
educational improvement, teamwork, and extensive affect are the most crucial elements for a whole system reform (Fullan,
2011). Promotion of educational reform depends primarily on teachers’ belief in its need and efficacy and their sense of
ownership (Hinde, 2004). Thus, how teachers position themselves in relation to teacher Education, teaching, schooling, and
learning reveals much about their needs from teacher education; the obligations and responsibilities they feel toward
teaching and students; and the roles they are prepared to enact (Pinnegar, Mangelson, Reed & Groves, 2011).
As the work of Lakoff and Johnson (1980) suggests, most of the language we use is metaphorical (Pinnegar et al., 2011).
Humans use words and images to interpret life, their experiences, and even their sense of self (Mahlios, Massengill-Shaw, &
Barry, 2010). Recent studies (e.g. Alger 2009; Mahlios et al., 2010; Pinnegar et al., 2011; Thomas & Beauchamp, 2011; Zhao,
Coombs, & Zhou, 2010) have supported the use of teacher metaphors as a tool to examine how they perceive their
professional identities (Thomas & Beauchamp, 2011) and to gain insights into authentic thoughts and feelings regarding

E-mail addresses: oritav65@gmail.com, avidovo@achva.ac.il (O.A. Ungar).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2016.03.008
0883-0355/ ã 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
118 O.A. Ungar / International Journal of Educational Research 77 (2016) 117–127

teaching (Connelly, Clandinin, & He, 1997; Zhao 2009). Teacher metaphoric appraisal and feedback has the power to improve
performance and inform teachers’ professional development (Fullan, 2011; Zhao et al., 2010).
Thus, this study aims to reveal teachers’ perceptions and attitudes through educational reform using teachers’ metaphors.

1.1. Teachers in times of educational reforms and changes

In our rapidly transforming global society, educational reform has become a fact of life for teachers (Priestley, 2011;
Thomas & Beauchamp, 2011). Usually, educational reforms are imposed top-down and land on teachers without their having
been consulted, although they are required to change behavior patterns and sometimes even values and assumptions (Fullan
2006; Raz, 2006). All around the world they are required to keep up with constant diversification in society, knowledge
development and increased access to knowledge while anticipating new roles (Thomas & Beauchamp, 2011). They are held
accountable for students’ well- being and citizenship education as well as their progress and attainment (Day & Smethem,
2009; Day, 2002). They perform in ever-shifting contexts and within unstable circumstances; they need to continually
develop themselves professionally (Thomas & Beauchamp, 2011; Zhao et al., 2010). Thus, teacher educators need to consider
significant and relevant ways to support teachers, help them transform their practice; update their pedagogical skills and
professional knowledge (Zhao et al., 2010).
The problem of educational reforms is one of power (Hinde, 2004). Leaders who want immediate results and focus on
standards and assessments will fail to achieve educational reform (Fullan, 2011), and end up making teachers feel
increasingly disempowered and professionally marginalized (Ball, 2008). Whenever teachers are viewed only as
implementers and the focus remains on external control and results, implementation may be superficial and characterized
by teachers’ lack of ownership, passiveness, reduced autonomy, and limited motivation to improve themselves and respond
to the reform (Luttenberg et al., 2013; Zhao et al., 2010).
People gain motivation when they feel effective and engage in something meaningful and contributing (Fullan, 2011).
Meaningful engagement with innovation enables teachers to become agents of change (Priestley, 2011). Hence, teachers
have recently been acknowledged as playing a crucial role in the success of educational reforms (Luttenberg et al., 2013), and
are now viewed as joint designers,[84_TD$IF] with focus on internal processes and on teacher participation, professional trust and
autonomy (Priestley, 2011). It appears that countries who developed the entire teaching profession and came to trust and
respect teachers better transform the system (Fullan 2011). As cited in Luttenberg et al. (2013) this is the reason that
attention is now being paid to the influence of teachers’ individual factors on educational reforms, such as: personal identity,[85_TD$IF]
trust (Louis, 2007) and beliefs (e.g. Seung, Park, & Narayan, 2011).
Teachers’ beliefs (or visions) impact their planning, teaching, interaction and action in classroom and can be changed with
practice and experience (Hammerness 2003; Mahlios et al., 2010). Beliefs build the individual’s identity as a teacher
(Pinnegar et al., 2011), deriving from personal experience, previous schooling, and formal knowledge (Mahlios et al., 2010).
One way to examine teachers’ beliefs is to identify the conceptual devices they use to make sense of their work and
lives—their use of metaphors (Mahlios et al., 2010).

1.2. Metaphor as a powerful tool to take a stand

Metaphors are mental constructs (Lakoff & Johnson’s 1980) that lie beneath the surface of a person’s awareness and serve
as a cognitive device for analogical framing and the defining of experience in order to achieve meaning about life (Massengill
Shaw & Mahlios, 2008). They link the projection of one schema on to another (Lakoff & Johnson’s 1980), organize our
thinking, structure the way we perceive situations, influence our actions (Mahlios et al., 2010; Marshall, 1990; Pinnegar et al.,
2011; Seung et al., 2011), and provide insights into ideas that are not explicit or consciously held (Martı’nez, Sauleda, & Huber,
2001; Leavy, McSorley, & Boté, 2007). Metaphors are not just figures of speech, but constitute an essential mechanism of the
mind allowing the modeling and reification of prior experience (Zhao et al., 2010). We develop conceptual metaphors to aid
meaning to experience, and then use it as a filter to make sense of new experiences (Alger, 2009). By doing so we highlight
what we have in common with others, and make our own pasts, present activities, dreams, hopes and goals coherent (Lakoff
& Johnson, 1980).
The most basic level metaphor we form is an image schema (Amin et al., 2015Amin, Jeppsson, & Haglund, 2015), for
example, Inbar (1996) found a discrepancy between teachers and students on their view that schooling is like prison.
Teacher-held metaphors provide vital and sometimes unconscious information about the kinds of teacher- student
relationships they attempt to create and the obligations, duties and responsibilities they will enact (Pinnegar et al., 2011).
Over the past two decades researchers and teacher educators have shown increasing interest in metaphor research as a
means to better understand how teachers conceptualize their most basic views about schooling, life, children, curriculum,
and teaching (Mahlios et al., 2010).

1.3. Examining attitude through changes using teachers’ metaphors

The process of selecting and emphasizing metaphor offers us an insight into hidden aspects of language by emphasizing
some selected features of a whole phenomenon (Inbar 1991). As cited by Alger (2009) metaphor analysis has been used to
raise teachers’ awareness, encourage reflective practice, challenge core beliefs, and promote change in classroom practices.
 O.A. Ungar / International Journal of Educational Research 77 (2016) 117–127 119

Also, researchers study metaphors as a way to understand and generate knowledge (Paavola, Lipponen, & Hakkarainen,
2004) to facilitate teachers’ professional development and to improve the educational system (Zhao et al., 2010).
The metaphorical approach highlights that notion that the choice of language is not accidental and represents more than
the surface meaning of the concepts (Inbar, 1991). Tobin’s work (Tobin & LaMaster 1995; Tobin 1990) provides evidence that
supports novice teachers in uncovering their metaphors and that evaluating and altering these metaphors could lead to
radical change in practice (Pinnegar et al., 2011). Indeed, much of the earlier research has focused on pre-service teachers
who have already been enrolled in several education courses (e.g. Bullough 1991). Richardson (1996) claims that prior life
experiences and actual teaching experiences have the strongest influence on teachers’ beliefs, and thus a change in
metaphors and beliefs is easier to achieve at the in-service level than at the pre-service level (Richardson 1996). The use of
metaphor may be an ideal starting point from which in-service teachers can reflect on their professional identity, as needed
in the current climate of reform, and changes made can be harmonious with one’s own goals and philosophies (Mahlios et al.,
2010). Seung et al. (2011) also highlight the need for more in-depth data sources on metaphor writing.
Metaphors reflect how situations and processes are perceived and can clarify some of the gaps between policy makers
and implementers (Inbar, 1991). Although educational reforms are simultaneously the product and producer of changed
insights (Luttenberg et al., 2013), to our best knowledge, no previous studies have examined teacher-held metaphors
through educational reforms. Thus, the aim of this study was to reveal teachers’ perceptions and attitudes through
educational reform using their metaphors.

2. Objectives

The goal of this study was to examine in-service teachers’ perceptions and attitudes through educational reforms using
their own metaphors. Previous studies on teacher metaphor focus mainly on three areas: (a) identifying and conceptualizing
teachers’ formulated metaphors; (b) the relationship between teacher metaphor, beliefs and professional knowledge; and
(c) the relationship between teacher metaphor and teaching practice (Seung et al., 2011). The current study will try to
combine and renew using the following research questions: (a) What are the main representations of metaphors held by
teachers in relation to current reforms? (b) How do those representations express teachers’ attitudes towards change?

3. Methodology

3.1. Context

In Israel, two major reforms are currently active: “The New Horizon” in elementary and middle schools and “The Courage
to Change” in high schools. Both aim to improve teachers’ working conditions on the one hand, and empower them as
instructors who lead students on the other. Within these reforms, teachers’ salaries were raised, but their working hours
were also expanded, especially “non-teaching hours”, when they hold meetings and carry out pedagogical work in school,
and “individual hours”, in which they teach students in small groups. Moreover, the entire professional development setting
has been changed. Following Inbar (1991) we searched for possible relationships between metaphorical expression and
attitudes towards educational reforms. As part of these transformation processes we thought it would be appropriate to
examine how teachers emotionally perceive educational reforms and how they express their feelings through metaphorical
expression, based on the conceptual metaphor theory of Lakoff and Johnson (1980). Lakoff and Johnson (1980) claim that our
thoughts, experiences and actions are mostly unconscious outcomes of our conceptual system which is mainly metaphorical.
Therefore, metaphorical expressions are an important source for understanding how we perceive, think and act, and reveal
what normal descriptions can't reveal. They see metaphor as a communicational-conceptual mechanism (Lakoff & Johnson,
1980). According to Ortony (1975), metaphors are vital to our culture as an essential communication component. They
express the cognitive-conceptual individual side of people on the one hand, and have social and communicative qualities on
the other. Metaphor can represent an entire conceptual world of the individual and send a centered, rich and experiential
message (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980; Ortony, 1975) for complex emotional or cognitive concepts (Cameron, 2009a, 2009b; Gibbs,
1994; Kupferberg & Green, 2005).

3.2. Research design

This study used a qualitative research design using qualitative data as a primary data source. The grounded theory
method was chosen to examine whether the reforms are effective and fulfill their objectives from teachers’ perspective
(Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1990).

3.3. Participants and setting

120 teachers from different elementary, middle schools and high schools in Israel were identified by means of a
convenience sample and gave their consent to participate in this study on a voluntary basis. 80 teachers were participating in
a wide systemic reform called ‘The New Horizon' in elementary and middle schools and 40 teachers were participating in a
wide systemic reform called ‘The Courage to Change' in high schools. At the time of the interview, all the teachers were
 120 O.A. Ungar / International Journal of Educational Research 77 (2016) 117–127

involved in the reforms in its second year of implementation at their school (schools implement the reform in three different
waves over three consecutive years). 95 interviewees were females and 25 were males. Their age ranged from 25 to 62 years
(average = 49). Teacher's seniority in the education system ranged from 4 years to 30 years (average = 17). Data was collected
individually, and each participant was interviewed in person.

3.4. Instruments and procedures

According to Inbar (1991), the space given to metaphors should be as broad as possible, because numerous and diverse
metaphors of the same phenomenon enrich us with multiple insights. Leavy et al. (2007) mentioned that metaphors can
make knowledge explicit through reflection and self-observation. Similar to Kupferberg and Verdi Rath (2012), a theoretical
framework that focuses on the dialogue has been used to explore how people construct meaning through metaphors.
Teachers’ perceptions of educational reforms and self-reported metaphors were evaluated by means of an in depth semi-
structured interview (Bogdan & Biklen, 1982). Each interview lasted approximately 30 min and was recorded and
transcribed. Interviews were conducted over a period of five months. The following are examples of interview questions used

[(Fig._1)TD$IG]

Posive

Atude
Negave
direcon

Ambivalent

Animals
Expressing an
atude Atude
regarding content Nature
educaonal domains
reforms using
self
War
metaphors

Concrete

Ade Abstract
meaning for
different types
of teachers Cognive

Emoonal

Fig. 1. Teachers’ attitudes towards educational reforms through metaphors.

 O.A. Ungar / International Journal of Educational Research 77 (2016) 117–127 121

in this study: ‘What is a change for you?’, ‘Is there a need for change in the education system?’, ‘What does “The Courage to
Change”/“The New Horizon” reform mean to you?’, ‘Specify from 1 to 10 and explain how much you sympathize with the
reform?’, ‘How is your sympathy through the reform expressed?’, ‘How is your rejection of the reform expressed? In
addition, for the main open-ended question, each teacher reported his or her own metaphor regarding the educational
reforms following the instruction: ‘Suggest a metaphor that describes the reforms for you and explain’.
The interviews’ questions allowed the respondents to look at the processes of change in the Israeli educational system in
general and educational reforms in particular, and to address changes that educational reforms summon for them as
teachers. Those questions served as a basis for profound reflective thinking and a context for the main question, in which
teachers were asked to describe the change through the use of a metaphor.

3.5. Data analysis

Metaphor examination can reveal some possible gaps in educational planning (Inbar, 1991).This study was conducted
according to the grounded theory approach, which requires that the theoretical model be constructed gradually and
grounded in data collection and interpretation (Glaser, 1992; Strauss & Corbin, 1994). Data analysis included open coding,
axial coding and selective coding, to define and characterize the phenomenon according to the typology discerned from the
data (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). The collection of metaphors served as a stimulus to develop the themes (Inbar, 1991). Using an
iterative approach, we grouped the metaphors according to recurring motives to one of two themes: the attitude (positive/
negative/ambivalent); the attitude content domains (animals/nature/war). Next, based on Inbar’s (1991) ‘Conceptual Frame
for Representing Planning Metaphors’, we developed a new model to illustrate different teacher types in times of educational
reform over 4 dimensions (between concrete and abstract, and between cognitive and emotional) as presented in Fig. 1. Four
interviewees were chosen to present different types of teachers relating to the position each took toward the reforms.
It is important to note that the same metaphor can be interpreted differently by different people, and may be given a
different emphasis according to subjective personal perceptions and interpretations (Inbar, 2000). This article focused on the
analysis of the main question that dealt with the given metaphors, while data from the rest of the interview served as a base
for the whole analysis process, allowing the interpretation of the attitude direction and content domains, and the
presentation of different types of teachers relating to the position each took toward the reforms. Thus, during the entire
process, effort was invested in creating objectivity (Inbar, 1996). In addition, Inbar, 1991 Inbar’s (1991) ‘Conceptual Frame for
Representing Planning Metaphors' in the analysis process was applied only after completion of the primary analysis of the
attitude direction and content domains. This advanced stage in the analysis process is the result of a desire to find a practical
tool that may allow administrators and others figures to place each teacher and realize what assistance is needed to support
him or her during the reform. The adjustments of the tool makes it possible to classify teachers and help them deal with the
changes accordingly. The metaphors and the interview data were first coded separately by two teams, and finally by the
researcher herself (Inbar, 1996).

4. Results

In the course of the in-depth interviews, teachers referred to a variety of subjects related to the manner in which they
perceived the current educational reforms. They developed metaphors that when analyzed in light of the interview data
expressed three primary themes regarding the reforms: (1) the attitude direction; (2) the attitude content domains; (3) and
the attitude meaning for different types of teachers. Themes and sub-themes are shown below.

[(Fig._2)TD$IG]

Fig. 2. Teachers’ attitudes towards change through held metaphors.

122 O.A. Ungar / International Journal of Educational Research 77 (2016) 117–127

4.1. The attitude direction

Teachers giving metaphors expressed positive, negative, and ambivalent perceptions toward the educational reforms. In
sum, out of 107 metaphors, 11 presented positive perceptions, 88 presented negative perceptions and 8 expressed
ambivalent perceptions. The ratio between negative perceptions and both positive and ambivalent ones is almost one to five
as presented in Fig. 2.

4.1.1. Positive perceptions

As mentioned above, out of 107 metaphors only 11 expressed positive attitudes toward the reforms in terms of hope and
beauty, progress and giving as presented in Table 1.
Teachers in this category accept the need for a change (“there is no smoke without fire-everything happens for a reason”), and
express hope toward the reforms that as a “lever” will raise them up and “make them stronger”. Although, initially it seemed
like “the ugly duckling”, they came to recognize and appreciate various advantages and opportunities in the situation (“at first
it was different than anything else that was known until now . . . Slowly, after a process of maturation, beauty, uniqueness and
benefits can be seen”). First, the reforms highlight “More preparation and individual, one-on-one, work” that help them to
“improve the way they meet their students' needs, and to combine between caring, quality time and discipline”. Second, they not
only get a chance to give, but appreciation and recognition are given to them in return- “Hands shaking one another, I work—I
receive. Finally I’m rewarded for hours of work I did anyway”; “Higher salary shows appreciation and respect—the light at the end
of the tunnel”. Third, one teacher also mentioned a technological improvement—“In the past I carried a bag of school materials
and books with me, now everything stays in school and only the computer goies home with me”.

4.1.2. Negative perceptions

The majority of held metaphors, 88 out of 107, expressed negative attitudes toward the reforms in terms of burden, lack of
usefulness, deception, hit/pain, something imposed without any say, industrial-mechanical and lack of resources. Some of
the metaphors repeated themselves. The major ones are presented in Table 2.
Teachers in this category experience the change as a huge burden “loaded on their back”; constantly “drowning” them. It
requires harder work and longer hours and they conceptualize it in severe terms like “slavery”; and “attrition war” causing
“the fallen of the mighty”;. Besides the amount of work “loaded on them”, the teachers express lack of appreciation
toward the reforms. It appears that they feel there is nothing suitable, useful or promising within the current reforms. They
symbolize it as “a new hat, not necessarily suitable”; “poor clothes”; “a change without a change”; “same lady, different dress”;
“nothing new under the sun”; and “new impression of a politician who wants to prove himself or set the tone”. Wondering
why, additional groups of metaphors under this category reveal hard feelings of deception and fraud. The teachers feel that
the reforms are like “a flower without rooting”, not right or suited to the education system and planned without sufficient
preparation, brought to a sense of decline like “a leaf fallen”. Thus, they feel inside “a maze” with “a box of tools that is out of
order”. The Change, which they “didn’t want”, came to them as a “low blow”, imposed on them without any chance to be heard
(“Camel’s hump - loaded on me without an option to resist”; “closed door—no one to talk about objections”). Physical
metaphors were chosen by some teacher to describe the overall “trampoline effect”, the felling that the change was
determined by others at their own expense, thereby harming them—“others stepping and jumping over us”; they sold us for a
bowl of potage”. At the end of the day, teachers feel like “factory workers” on a “production line”, just like “Charlie Chaplin in
“Modern Times”;—the time-stamping and working in patterns that don’t fit the education system”.

4.1.3. Ambivalent perceptions

Component parts of metaphors can have multiple meanings (Alger, 2009). Indeed, a few metaphors, 8 out of 107,
expressed ambivalent attitudes toward the reforms in terms of seeing both benefits and flaws coexisting at the present, not
sure which will overcome the other, and how the story will end in the future as presented in Table 3.
Teachers in this category feel that the benefits of the reforms come with a price of emptying resources like a “sprayer
spilled for the common good”. It is not smooth sailing, but rather alternately a “rough and calm sea”. They are waiting to get
used to it. Right now they are having a difficult time, but they expect it to pass after an adjustment period, symbolizing it as
an “hourglass”. There are teachers who are waiting to see the impact of the reforms to shape a positive or negative opinion,
like a “swing”—“it is not yet clear if we are up or down, and how the story will end”. Not surprisingly they mention the titles of
well-known books dealing with the process of Change, as their held metaphors, as they are not yet sure how the story will
end for them.

Table 1
Metaphors from a positive point of view.

Hope and beauty “Hold and grow stronger”. “Courage and glory”. “The ugly duckling”. “Light”. “There is no smoke without fire”.
Progression “From a briefcase to a computer”. “Social groups”. “Lever”.“The light at the end of the tunnel”.
Giving “Bird feeding her nestlings”. “Hands shaking one another”.
 O.A. Ungar / International Journal of Educational Research 77 (2016) 117–127 123

Table 2
Metaphors from a negative point of view.

Burden “A heavy load on the back”. “Never-ending day”. “A sea of work”. “A sea I'm drowning in”. “Getting stuck in school”. “From dusk till
dawn”. “Slavery”. “Workhorse”. “A donkey carrying books”. “Housemaid”. “Attrition war”.“How the mighty have fallen”.
Unsuitable “Something without any usefulness”. “A new hat,not necessarily suitable”. “Poor clothes”. “If you try too hard, you end up with
nothing”. “A change without a change”. “Same lady, different dress”. “Nothing new under the sun”. “Low teaching”. “A Leaf has fallen”.
“Another wave to go through”.“New impression of politician”.
Deception “A lie has no legs”. “No apple tree grows bananas”. “Self- inflicted defeat”. “A flower without rooting”. “Golden cage”. “The Boy Who
Cried Wolf”. “Swollen balloon—as anticipation grows disappointment grows”. “The courage to change = goat in return”. “Pig in a poke”.
“They sold us for a bowl of potage”. “Courage . . . to the donkey who signed”.
Lack of resources “A toolbox that is out of order”.“A maze”.
Imposed without any “Camel's hump”. “Closed door”. “Prison”. “Someone else's dream”. “A bird with chopped wings”. “Forced us into doing something we
say didn't want”. “Trampoline”. “To throw into water”.
Hit/pain “Low blow”. “Hit/pain”. “Stress around the tail”. “A bone stuck in the throat”.
Industrial- “Factory workers”. “Production line”. “Charlie Chaplin in ‘Modern Times ".“A watch’.
mechanical

4.2. The attitude content domains

Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and Inbar (1996) organized metaphors into larger groups according to their content domains,
in a way that reveals the broader context and allows deepened transference and projection into the meaning behind the
overall metaphors. In the current study, three main content domains were constantly repeated: the animal kingdom, nature,
and war as will be presented bellow.

4.2.1. Animal kingdom

The main content domain of teachers’ metaphors in this study was the animal kingdom. Many teachers chose animal
images, such as: bird, cat, donkey, horse and camel, to describe the reform for them: “pig in a poke”, “the boy who cried wolf”,
“a bird with chopped wings”, " a camel’s hump”, “a donkey carrying books”, “golden cage”, “the donkey who signed”, “a Gentile’s
horse accustomed to work without food until he died”, “the courage to change = a goat in return” (this latter a play on the
Hebrew words). This represents a sense of inferiority, humiliation, abuse and hard labor without recognition of high human
capabilities and the lack of conscious choice. Compared to the rest of the interviews and the details that teachers gave, those
were indeed the widespread feelings among the teachers. The reforms require hard physical labor and long working hours
than before, without any conscious choice.

4.2.2. Nature
The second main content domain of teachers’ metaphors in this study was forces of nature and flora. Flora metaphors
significantly belong to teaching, as mentioned by Inbar (1996), express a sense of growth and progression. However, in this
study, the metaphors mainly expressed negative meaning. Many teachers chose nature images, such as: sea, dusk, dawn, sun,
wave, water, mountain, wind, leaf, tree, flower: “a sea of work”, “a sea I’m drowning in”, “from dusk till dawn”, “nothing new
under the sun”, a leaf has fallen”, “another wave to go through”, “no apple tree grows bananas”, “a flower without rooting”, “to
throw into water”, “rough and calm seas”, “sound and fury”, “the giving tree”. This represents a sense of smallness against
massive nature forces. According to the teachers, the reforms have fallen on them without any opoortunity to express an
opinion, affecting their daily functioning and causing them a sense of decline.

4.2.3. War
The third main content domain of teachers’ metaphors in this study was war or physical pain. Teachers chose images,
such as: “a war of attrition ", ‘how the mighty have fallen’, “low blow”, “hit”, pain”, “stress around the tail”, “a bone stuck in
the throat”, “distress”. This may imply the great distress teachers are experiencing. They are hurt and defeated, paying both a
physical and emotional price.

Table 3
Metaphors from an ambivalent point of view.

Ambivalent about the “A swing”. “A two-sided coin”. “Rough and calm seas”. “An hourglass”. “A sprayer spilled for the common good”. “A fly in the
present ointment”.
Not sure how the story will “Who Moved My Cheese?” “The Giving Tree”.
end
124 O.A. Ungar / International Journal of Educational Research 77 (2016) 117–127

4.3. The attitude meaning for different types of teachers

Based on the content analysis of the interview data, four types of teachers were discernible with regard to the educational
reforms. Teachers in this study tended to address the reforms in a cognitive- emotional manner and in concrete-abstract
manner respectively. Referring to those dimensions is significant because it outlines the possible dynamic descriptions of
teachers. Each teacher could have been characterized in all four dimensions simultaneously (Inbar, 1991). However, the
amount of emphasis placed by each teacher allows us to define “types” of teachers and enables an efficient and thorough
description of the research results, in accordance with the teachers’ dynamic nature.
Inbar’s (1991) ‘Conceptual Frame for Representing Planning Metaphors', served as a basis for developing a new model that
illustrates the meaning of educational reforms in relation to different types of teachers’ as presented in Fig. 3.
The first axis is horizontal and represents concrete-abstract patterns. The second axis is vertical and represents cognitive-
emotional patterns. The vast majority of teachers chose concrete metaphors while only few chose abstract metaphors. In
addition, more teachers took an emotionally stand toward the reforms rather than a cognitive one. The many emotional
responses indicate the storm of emotions that teachers are experiencing due to the reforms. Four interviewees were chosen
to represent different types of teachers relating to the position each took toward the reforms.

4.3.1. The first type of teacher: within the cognitive-concrete dimension

The teacher in this category is the “captain teacher”. She believes deeply that: “there must be a change in the education
system”, and that “the need (for a change) exists for many years and unfortunately didn't happen”. She said that the meaning of
the reform for her is: “that I actually spend more hours in school, until 16:00, and the salary hasn't been raised that much”. She
experiences the reform and refers to it in a rational and concrete way: “There are no conditions at all necessary to do my work
quietly at school- checking homework, preparing lessons, and such . . . There is no board, computers or privacy for individual
group hours. If there really were a substantial change in the education system, it wouldn't concern only salary aspects, but many
(other) areas: the matriculation exams, individualized instruction, the work environment, the relationship between teachers and
students . . . , in short— (in) everything”. Successful reform for this teacher would be: “to bring a real and long-awaited change
and not to leave everything as it is”, meaning—to have the proper means to deliver the change.

4.3.2. The second type of teachers within the cognitive-abstract dimension

The teacher in this category is the “uphill teacher”. She believes that: “there is always a need for a change in the education
system, but without turnovers and lurches. She experiences the reform and refers to it in a rational and abstract way: ‘The
reform is still new. I don't know it perfectly, and I don't know how it will end. I march with everyone, sometimes leading and
sometimes from behind. Perhaps the salary made me accept it, but actually I don't have anything to like in the reform’. Successful
reform for this teacher would be: “to understand what I am marching against and to run together with the progress”.

4.3.3. The third type of teacher: within the emotional- concrete dimension
The teacher in this category is the “climbing while feeling a lack of appreciation teacher”. She believes that: “there is
certainly a need for a Change, always, from the root. There is a lot of work”. She experiences the reform and refers to it in a very
emotional and concrete way: I think the whole world is against teaching and all the media is looking to fault us and we are not
appreciated enough. I sometimes say to my husband —(come) deal with my classroom for 10 min and then you will understand the
nature of teaching and the hard work that it involves”. Successful reform for this teacher would be: “to teach four hours a
day, with parents and system evaluation and a supporting bureaucracy rather than exhausting one. You see, I'm not asking for

[(Fig._3)TD$IG]
Cognitive

Abstract Concrete

Emotional
Fig. 3. Types of teachers relating to educational reforms—between concrete and abstract, cognitive and emotional.
 O.A. Ungar / International Journal of Educational Research 77 (2016) 117–127 125

breakfast and lunch as all factories. I'm not asking extra board and lodging and car maintenance. These things are negligible for
those seeking for change. I'm also not asking for subsidized work training just appreciation”.

4.3.4. The fourth type of teacher: within the emotional-abstract dimension

The teacher in this category is the “searching for meaning and spirituality teacher”. She believes that: “there is a need for a
Change, to upgrade teacher status, with more appreciation for their work—to change the attitude of society toward teachers and
their work”. She experiences the reform and refers to it in a very emotional and abstract way: “It feels like someone took the
wind out of teaching. Everything is measured in hours and minutes, there is no more investment beyond, contribution to the
system, because it's no longer possible. The uniqueness of the profession has been removed. Teachers are so called like every official
factory worker. They have forgotten that we are working with souls rather than material. Successful reform for this teacher will
occur: ‘when it is teacher-friendly, when teachers feel that it promotes them and it is for their own good’.

5. Discussion

According to Inbar (1991) an understanding of a phenomenon depends on our ability to simultaneously comprehend
complementary and even contradictory metaphors of that phenomenon. He also refers to the contradiction metaphors often
express between expectation and experience (Inbar, 1996). Results of this study reveal a majority of negative perceptions
toward the current educational reforms in Israel. Those results indicate the many contradictions between what teachers are
expecting to be part of the decision making, to have a say in matters that affect them directly, to receieve appreciation and
recognition alongside suitable conditions and tools to implement the change—and what they are experiencing in their
everyday reality a change that was forced on them without them having any personal power or influence. Indeed, teachers
in this study do not feel like joint designers or change agents (Priestley, 2011), which according to Fullan (2011) is the basic
term for educational reform success.
As cited by Mahlios et al. (2010), there is a growing body of international literature that supports the study and use of
teachers’ metaphors to understand how they conceptualize their work and themselves in the work. Amin (2015) claims the
goals of the work on conceptual metaphor in science education overlap with the goals of research on conceptual change. The
use of metaphors is very important in times of educational reform as they offer more meanings than regular verbal
expression. Apart from the apparent meaning, it carries additional meanings that represent the real and broad intention
(Inbar, 2000). Metaphors uncover certain parts of the phenomenon, hidden areas of the broader picture that were covered by
more obvious features. Hence they allow us to broaden and deepen our observation of the phenomena (Inbar, 2000;
Kupferberg, Green, & Gilat, 2008). Results of this study reveal three main content domains of teachers’ metaphors: the
animal kingdom, nature, and war, all implying that teachers feel subjected to external control, and therefore they may cope
negatively with the reforms (Kupferberg & Verdi Rath, 2012).
The research also indicates that teachers differ from each other in how they experience and deal with the reforms. All four
“types” of teachers believe there is indeed a need for extensive reform, but each type needs different supports to lead the
change. This critical information can serve as an efficient tool for helping administrators, teacher educators and leaders to
bring about conceptual changes in teachers’ perspectives and identities as teachers (Pinnegar et al., 2011).
Educational reforms should be built taking into consideration the needs of the whole system starting from below, and in
accordance with the organizational culture of the schools. This conclusion has been drawn again and again in many studies
on education system change (e.g. Ball, 2008; Fullan, 2011; Hinde, 2004; Luttenberg et al., 2013; Zhao et al., 2010). Findings
from the current study indicated teachers’ perceptions and attitudes using their own metaphors. Following the
recommendations of Inbar (1991, 1996, 2000) and Thomas and Beauchamp (2011), the current study combines the use of
metaphors in educational research with the innovation of implementation through educational reforms.
Metaphor construction leads to new forms of conceptual insight (Zhao et al., 2010). As demonstrated in this study,
metaphors can serve as a good tool to elicit teachers’ positions on educational reforms, as they become a fact of life for
teachers (Priestley 2011; Thomas & Beauchamp 2011). Similar to Thomas and Beauchamp (2011), we also believe there is a
strong case to be made for engaging teachers in a variety of dialogues, including the use of metaphors. More research in the
area is obviously needed.

5.1. Practical applications

Metaphors can guide teachers’ learning and practice. Policy makers will be able to use teachers metaphors and the model
suggested to support, empower and motivate teachers (Fullan, 2011) and to improve the education system (Zhao et al., 2010)
by ensuring their involvement and partnership in the change process (Priestley, 2011).
Kupferberg and Verdi Rath (2012) claims that “letting off steam” – a process of catharsis in which it is legitimate to
express negative emotions – allows teacher to become actively involved in changes. They recommend finding ways of
communication that allow the release of tensions, especially in times of crisis, and open criticism expressed directly to
official bodies as a way to improve practice (Kupferberg & Verdi Rath, 2012). Teachers need to feel that their input is as
essential as it is.
126 O.A. Ungar / International Journal of Educational Research 77 (2016) 117–127

5.2. Research limitations and future research

When teachers embrace new metaphors they can initiate new plotlines in their teaching practice, but they can also limit
thoughts, attitudes, and actions (Pinnegar et al., 2011). The metaphor is not the reality itself, but only a personal reference to
different aspects of the reality which we constantly shape (Inbar, 2000). Inbar (1996) suggests being cautious and not
overconfident regarding our metaphor insights. We need to be aware of them, examine them critically and conduct joint
discussions to enable both learning and growth. Inbar (1991) also claims that we should resist the temptation to try and
identify fully with metaphors, or to try and locate metaphors in different historical periods or philosophical movements
(Inbar, 1991). Metaphors are culturally bound, which can limit meaning and interpretation (Thomas & Beauchamp, 2011). In
addition, in the advanced stage of the analysis process we aimed to provide a practical tool that would allow supporting
teachers during educational reform. For this purpose we introduced only four prominent characters that exemplify the
model ends, but of course, teachers can move between axes. Thus, further research is needed to reflect those possibilities. In
addition, researchers should apply longitudinal studies to investigate changes in teacher’s attitudes over time. There is also a
need to investigate all kinds of key figures in the educational system. Continued use of metaphor as an efficient tool in
education study is hereby recommended.

References

Alger, C. L. (2009). Secondary teachers’ conceptual metaphors of teaching and learning: changes over the career span. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(5),
743–751.
Amin, T. G. (2015). Conceptual metaphor and the study of conceptual change: research synthesis and future directions. International Journal of Science
Education, 37(5–6), 966–991.
Amin, T. G., Jeppsson, F., & Haglund, J. (2015). Conceptual metaphor and embodied cognition in science learning: introduction to special issue. International
Journal of Science Education, 37(5–6), 745–758.
Ball, S. J. (2008). The education debate. Bristol: The Policy Press.
Bogdan, R., & Biklen, S. (1982). Qualitative research for education: an introduction to theory and methods. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Bullough, R. V. (1991). Exploring personal teaching metaphors in preservice teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 42(1), 43–51.
Cameron, L. (2009a). The discourse dynamics approach to metaphor and metaphor-led discourse analysis. Metaphor & Symbol, 24, 63–89.
Cameron, L. (2009b). Metaphor and talk. In R. Gibbs (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of metaphor and thought (pp. 197–211).New York: Cambridge University
Press.
Connelly, F. M., Clandinin, D. J., & He, M. F. (1997). Teachers’ personal practical knowledge on the professional knowledge landscape. Teaching and Teacher
Education, 13(7), 665–674.
Day, C. (2002). School reform and transitions in teacher professionalism and identity. International Journal of Educational Research, 37(2), 677–692.
Day, C., & Smethem, L. (2009). The effects of reform: have teachers really lost their sense of professionalism? Journal of Educational Change, 10(2–3), 141–157.
Fullan, M. (2011). Choosing the wrong drivers for whole system reform (Seminar Series Paper, No. 204). Melbourne, Australia: The Centre for Strategic Education.
http://www.michaelfullan.ca/media/13396088160.pdf.
Fullan, M. (2006). The future of educational change: system thinkers in action. Journal of Educational Change, 7(3), 113–122.
Gibbs, R. W. (1994). The poetics of the mind: figurative thought, language and understanding. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Glaser, B. (1992). Basics of grounded theory analysis: emergence vs. forcing. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.
Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine De Gruyter.
Hammerness, K. (2003). Learning to hope, or hoping to learn. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(1), 43–56.
Hinde, E. R. (2004). School culture and change: an examination of the effects of school culture on the process of change. Essays in Education, 12, 1–13.
Inbar, D. E. (1996). The free educational prison: metaphors and images. Educational Research, 38(1), 77–92.
Inbar, D. E. (2000). The leadership gallery (Hebrew version). Managing diversity, the educational challenge. Even Yehuda: Reches103–111.
Inbar, D. E. (1991). A metaphorical insight into educational planning. Journal of Educational Administration, 29(3), 23–37.
Kupferberg, I., & Green, D. (2005). Troubled talk: metaphorical negotiation in problem discourse. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
Kupferberg, I., Green, D., & Gilat, I. (2008). Adolescents’ figurative expression of emotion when war threatens. In T. Stavans, & I. Kupferberg (Eds.), Studies in
language and language education: essays in honor of Elite Olshtain—new vistas in education and society series (pp. 111–124).Jerusalem: The Hebrew
University Magnes Press.
Kupferberg, I., & Verdi Rath, E. (2012). Metaphors positioning of teacher in teachers’ Training Colleges in times of changes. In R. Klavir, & L. Kozminski (Eds.),
The construction of professional identity—professional training and development processes of teachers in Israel (pp. 488–505).Tel Aviv: Mofet (Hebrew
version).
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. L. (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago 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(7), 1217–1233.
Louis, K. S. (2007). Trust and improvement in schools. Journal of Educational Change, 8, 1–24.
Luttenberg, J., Carpay, T., & Veugelers, W. (2013). Educational reform as a dynamic system of problems and solutions: towards an analytic instrument. Journal
of Educational Change, 14(3), 335–352.
Mahlios, M., Massengill-Shaw, D., & Barry, A. (2010). Making sense of teaching through metaphors: a review across three studies. Teachers and Teaching:
Theory and Practice, 16(1), 49–71.
Marshall, H. H. (1990). Metaphor as an instructional tool in encouraging student teacher reflection. Theory into Practice, 29(2), 128–132.
Martı’nez, M. A., Sauleda, N., & Huber, G. L. (2001). Metaphors as blueprints of thinking about teaching and learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(8),
965–977.
Massengill Shaw, D., & Mahlios, M. (2008). Pre-service teachers’ metaphors of teaching and literacy. Reading Psychology, 29(1), 31–60.
Ortony, A. (1975). Why metaphors are necessary and not just nice. Educational Theory, 25, 45–53.
Paavola, S., Lipponen, L., & Hakkarainen, K. (2004). Models of innovative knowledge communities and three metaphors of learning. Review of Educational
Research, 74, 557–576.
Pinnegar, S., Mangelson, J., Reed, M., & Groves, S. (2011). Exploring preservice teachers’ metaphor plotlines. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(3), 639–647.
Priestley, M. (2011). Schools, teachers, and curriculum change: a balancing act? Journal of Educational Change, 12(1), 1–23.
Raz, A. (2006). Managerial culture, workplace culture and situated curricula in organizational learning. Organization Studies, 27(2), 165–182.
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.
Seung, E., Park, S., & Narayan, R. (2011). Exploring elementary pre-service teachers’ beliefs about science teaching and learning as revealed in their metaphor
writing. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 20(6), 703–714.
 O.A. Ungar / International Journal of Educational Research 77 (2016) 117–127 127

Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Open coding. Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques, 2, 101–121.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1994). Grounded theory methodology: an overview. In N. Denzin, & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 273–285).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Thomas, L., & Beauchamp, C. (2011). Understanding new teachers’ professional identities through metaphor. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(4), 762–769.
Tobin, K. (1990). Changing metaphors and beliefs: a master switch for teaching? Theory into Practice, 29(2), 122–127.
Tobin, K., & LaMaster, S. U. (1995). Relationships between metaphors, beliefs, and actions in a context of science curriculum change. Journal of Research in
Science Teaching, 32(3), 225–242.
Zhao, H., Coombs, S., & Zhou, X. (2010). Developing professional knowledge aboutteachers through metaphor research: facilitating a process of change.
Teacher Development, 14(3), 381–395.
Zhao, H. Q. (2009). Developing professional knowledge about teachers. Hangzhou, China: Zhejiang Univ Press.

View publication stats