Özet:

Counselling and Research Center (RAM) is obliged to carry out the process of identification, placement and educational planning of the individuals who require special education in the region with the studies on counselling and psychological counseling services in educational institutions. However, RAM- Counselling and Research Center needs to be informed about the characteristics of the student by the elementary education teacher. At this point, the knowledge and skills of the elementary education teachers about the subject gain significance. The aim of this study is to determine the perceptions of elementary education teacher candidates about RAM by means of metaphors. The research was carried out with the qualitative research method. The study group consists of 54 prospective teachers studying in the last year of undergraduate education at Sakarya University Faculty of Education. The data were collected through a form consisting of two sections in which the first section is based on personal information of the participants and the second section includes the perceptions of the elementary education teachers about RAM- Counselling and Research Center by using “RAM is like….., because….’’ statement. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. As a result of the research, it was concluded that elementary education teacher candidates mostly produced metaphors regarding the functions of RAM- Counselling and Research Center. According to that, 17 of the elementary education teachers perceive RAM as an institution that recognizes and guides the student. In addition to that, it was found that 11 of the elementary education teachers had incorrect perceptions about RAM- Counselling and Research Center. 8 of the elementary education teacher candidates perceive RAM as an institution serving as educational institution and 3 of the elementary education teacher candidates perceive RAM as an institution that provides services other than the service they have provided. In addition, elementary education teacher candidates produced 2 metaphors related to the characteristics of RAMs and 7 institutions providing inadequate support. In the light of the findings, in order to eliminate misconceptions of elementary education teacher candidates about RAM, it can be recommended to make more comprehensive applications regarding special education and educational evaluation processes in teacher training process.

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