DETERMINATION OF THE COMPUTER SELF-EFFICACY PERCEPTION OF STUDENTS AND METAPHORS RELATED TO “COMPUTER OWNERSHIP”

ABSTRACT

The aim of this research is to determine the computer self-efficacy perception of second grade primary school students and their opinions regarding computer ownership through metaphors. The research applied the scanning model and was conducted during the 2011-2012 academic year among seven primary schools of the Ministry of National Education in the central district of Kocaeli City. Research data were collected using a survey study aimed at determining the self-efficacy perception of second grade primary school students (n=513); a metaphor method was used, through which they reflected upon their attitudes and opinions regarding computer ownership. In the metaphor, each student was asked to complete the statement, “owning a computer of my own is like..., because...”. For the data analysis, the depictive analysis method was used, and the data obtained was presented in digitized form. The results showed that the self-efficacy perception of the second grade primary school students was quite strong and that the computer self-efficacy perception of the male students was higher than that of the female students. When the metaphors developed by the students were examined, it was observed that metaphors such as “owning a computer is like owning a car”, “owning a computer is like owning a friend” and “owning a computer is like flying like  a bird” were stated more often than other metaphors.