Objective The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions children of a community center and their own school through analyzing the metaphors they used to describe them and also to understand whether children’s perceptions of their school and community center are different. Theoretical Framework How children spent their time after school has become an important issue because school-aged children spend almost half of their waking hours in voluntary activities outside the school. A lack of adult supervision, a lack of socially acceptable, structured activities, and an aggregation of anti-social peers are some of the conditions that may create risks for children during the hours following school dismissal (Mahoney, Eccles & Larson, 2004). The community and youth centers may serve as an ideal out-of-school context for reaching the young persons who are most in need of a constructive, enriching learning experience outside the school hours. This is especially important in Turkish context in which subject-centered curriculum is implemented in a formal, authoritarian and rigid school environment (Engin-Demir, 2007) and a lack of parental support at home due to low level of education. A positive atmosphere that fosters motivation for learning, a caring social relationship with peers and adults, belongingness, opportunities for skill building, and appropriate structure have been validated by the process-focused research on organized out-of-school activities (Mahoney, Eccless and Larson, 2004; Rhodes, 2004). According to Lakoff and Johnson, (1980) “metaphor is concerned with the transference of meaning from one situation to another and describing one thing in terms of something else” (p.5). Lakoff and Johnson (1980, suggest that our conceptual system is largely metaphorical and, therefore, if we want to understand how someone thinks and experiences life, we need to study his or her metaphors. Therefore, an analysis of metaphors used by school children who participate in out-of-school activities of a community center can provide us with insight in understanding how they interpret their experiences at the center and in their schools. For this the following two research questions guided the data collection and data analysis processes: 1. Which metaphors, images and analogies do children use when describing a community center? 2. Which metaphors, images and analogies do children use when describing their own school? The context The study was conducted in a community center called ‘Education Park’ which is located in a poor neighborhood of the capital Ankara. The center was established to provide a unique, non-formal educational environment for the personal and social development and practical skills enhancement, particularly of vulnerable children and youth between ages 7-16 by Turkish Education Volunteers Foundations (TEGV), and activities implemented by volunteers high school and university students. The overall philosophy of the ‘Education Park’ and goals of the activities are to help children more about themselves, to have more self-esteem and improve their social skills. Attendance and activity participation at the park is voluntary. Typical activities cover the areas of personal development, social life, language-communication, culture-art and science and technology. If demanded, children are provided with remedial help on their school studies.

An interpretive design was employed as a methodology because the research was fundamentally concerned with providing an understanding of out-of- school activities and school experiences through the impressions of the participants (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000). The study used the concept of “metaphor” as a tool of research for examining the meanings that selected children assign to a community center and their own school. Semi-structured interview technique was used to collect data. Children were asked to choose a metaphor from a list that describes the community center and their school best. They were also asked to explain the reason (s) of choosing that particular metaphor. Convenience sampling technique was used to select participants. Only 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade primary school students attending the community center were selected as participants of this study. It was thought that older children might provide more detailed answers for the interview questions. A total of 43 children out of 99 children ages from 10 to 14 participated in the study. 41.9% of them were female while 58.1% of them were male. Interview notes were compiled and thematic content analysis (Miles & Huberman, 1994) was used to sort out metaphorical images as well as descriptive statements that were used by children to clarify and explain the metaphors they used. Then, these images were grouped in terms of contextual similarities. Each researcher interpreted the metaphors used by students and identified the themes independently. Then, interpretations and identified themes were compared for the purpose of providing inter-coder-reliability. High level of agreement was observed on identified themes and interpretations of metaphors. This study is qualitative and thus reflects the unique perspectives of the individual participants and is not generalizable.

Selected Findings The most frequently used metaphor to describe the community center was family, which is followed by metaphors of school, Luna park, camp, kindergarten and team. Comparing the community center with family implies that the supervisors are parents, and volunteer activity leaders are older sisters or brothers. Children seem perceive the community center as a family-like center of caring where there are concerned adults and respectful peers and where their needs are met. Descriptive statements that were used by children to clarify and explain the family metaphor indicated that, they are especially satisfied with their good relationships with the supervisors and volunteers. Interestingly, the second most frequently used metaphor in describing the center was the metaphor of school. Although the purpose of the center is to create an environment which is different from disciplined and authoritarian school environment emphasizing rote learning, some of the children still perceive the center as a school. Most of those children emphasized the programmed activities and academic knowledge given at the center in explaining the reasons of choosing the school metaphor. The metaphors such as a Luna park, a camp, a kindergarten, a garden, a butterfly, Olympic Games and a team used by children in describing the center, indicate that, children have positive perceptions of the physical and social environment created by the center. They tend to perceive the center as a playful and joyful place to have fun while learning. The most frequently chosen metaphor by children in describing their own schools was metaphor of family followed metaphors of team, factory, army, beehive, laboratory and prison respectively. The metaphor of school as a family indicates that children have positive perceptions of their school environment. When the reason of choosing the family metaphor in describing the school was examined, it was observed that children only mentioned their good relationships with peers in their schools. This finding is consistent with previous studies conducted to examine metaphors of school in Turkish context (Balci, 1999; Engin-Demir, 2007). Because images presented in metaphors are signs that connote the respondent’s feelings and attitudes towards the phenomenon being explored (Smith, 1998), it can be suggested that almost all of the participants tended to have positive attitudes and feelings toward the community center. They compared the center with family, Luna park, camp, kindergarten, team, garden, and butterfly. On the other hand, majority of participants seem to have negative attitudes and feelings towards their own schools. They compared their schools with factory, army, a prison, court, herd, horror movie and military camp. Children tended to criticize the limited freedom and autonomy and a lack of consideration of individual needs and interests in their schools. Overall results indicated that, majority of the participants perceived the community center as family-like place of joy, caring, involvement and learning. Based on findings, it can be argued that the community center is effective in actualizing its goals of providing a supportive non-formal educational environment and emphasizing the individual needs and interest. On the other hand, majority of participants perceived their school as an authoritarian place in which they have to obey the rules, while they are studying hard, completing homework and earning grades. They feel a lack of autonomy and freedom in their school. Significance An investigation of children’s metaphors of community center they attend and their own school revealed how students feel about the center and their school, how they interpret their experiences and what they think about the role of the center and their school in their life. It is clear that, metaphors can help supervisors and volunteers in the community center make sense of what happens in the center and how children evaluate the activities they engage in. The findings of this study have implications for the development of effective out-of-school activities in similar community centers. In addition the school administrators and teachers ought to consider ways and means of influencing children’s images of school in a positive manner in order to that students learning can be enhanced. What the students find desirable would be a school characterized by a flexible and responsive environment that leaves rooms for some autonomy for the students to attain their own goals.