Metaphors are a fundamental linguistic resource that enable the understanding and representation of complex or abstract realities through familiar images, facilitating thought organization and knowledge construction (Black, 1976; Kövecses, 2002). In the educational field, metaphors function not only as linguistic tools but also as cognitive mechanisms that help structure ideas and shape perceptions of teaching, childhood, and school (Grady, Fisher & Fraser, 1996; Saban, 2006; Hordvik et al., 2023).

Metaphors serve as interpretative frameworks that influence how teachers and students conceptualize their roles and environments. In early childhood teacher education, the study of metaphors used by prospective teachers allows for the identification of underlying conceptions regarding childhood, the teaching-learning process, and the role of school in child development (Fenech et al., 2020; Niikko, 2022). Through metaphor analysis, it is possible to reveal how students construct their professional identity and what educational models they internalize throughout their training.

Furthermore, the exploration of metaphors in this context can serve as a self-reflective tool, enabling pre-service teachers to question their own beliefs and expectations about teaching and learning. Thus, the study of metaphors is not only descriptive but also transformative, contributing to the evolution of pedagogical thinking and the promotion of more critical and reflective educational approaches.

From this perspective, within the framework of the project “Metaphors of the teaching profession, childhood, and school to strengthen the professional identity of teacher education students (META-EI)” (UNED-Spain, 2024-2025), the objective of this contribution is to analyze the metaphors used by Early Childhood Education degree students to describe teachers, childhood, and school. Based on this objective, we pose the following research question: What types of metaphors do future teachers construct regarding teaching, childhood, and school? Ultimately, this study aims to explore the potential of metaphors as both a visual and conceptual resource that enables the description, reflection, and projection of ideas and thoughts about the teaching profession. Additionally, it seeks to identify the metaphors that best represent teaching, school, and childhood from the perspective of pre-service teachers, thus fostering critical reflection in early childhood teacher education.

This study adopts a quantitative approach, based on the implementation of a questionnaire with both closed and open-ended questions. The objective is to identify the most significant metaphors from the perspective of Early Childhood Education degree students. A repertoire of metaphors was developed for three key categories: a) Teachers: lighthouse, gardener who cultivates or sows, architect building a structure, orchestra conductor, transmitter of a legacy, among others. b? School: laboratory, factory, refuge, marketplace, community, among others. c) Childhood: sponges, plants, explorers, seeds, imitators, guiding threads, etc. Based on this repertoire, students are asked to express their agreement with each metaphor and reflect on those that they consider most aligned with their vision of teaching, school, and childhood. As the study is still in the data collection phase, specific details about the sample of participants cannot yet be provided. Regarding the analytical framework, descriptive and inferential statistical techniques will be used to identify trends and relationships among the metaphors selected by students. Additionally, content analysis will be conducted on the responses to open-ended questions to deepen the interpretation of the metaphors chosen.

The analysis is expected to identify dominant patterns in the metaphors employed, as well as provide arguments supporting their relevance in teacher education. Furthermore, potential differences in metaphor selection will be explored according to sociodemographic variables. These results will open promising new research lines into how these conceptions evolve throughout teacher training and the possibility of designing intervention strategies to foster reflection and the development of a more conscious and critical professional identity among future teachers. This study anticipates confirming that the use of metaphors in teacher education is a valuable strategy for understanding and guiding the professional development of future educators, fostering a deeper and more meaningful connection with educational realities.

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