Abstract:

In the process of the purchases of tourist products by families, children have a significant influence. Children can be an important factor in the choice of a business or destination. Therefore, the perceptions of students who receive tourism education are also highlighted about children. As students work in the industry, they will need to interact with the children and this process can affect the quality of the service. In this framework, the main purpose of the research is to study the perceptions of the students of the recreation department about the concept of "child" through metaphors. The research work group consists of 150 students studying and voluntarily participating in the recreation department. A data collection tool has been created to obtain quality data. The created data collection tool is like "the child ............". Because the statement is required to be filled. The data collected is analyzed using content analysis. In the research, the methods of quality research have been used for the design of the olgubilim (fenomenology). The metaphors obtained were gathered under 20 categories, studied in terms of common characteristics. According to the findings of the study, the categories in which the most metaphors are produced are, respectively, the categories of "being influenced by education, being needed, directed and processed". The most produced metaphors were flowers, trees and old trees.

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