Metaphorical views of school: A cross-cultural comparison of college students

To compare the metaphorical views of elementary and secondary school environments, as recalled by American and Chinese college students preparing to become teachers, preferred and actual school experiences were related to metaphors, such as being in a crowd, in a prison, on a team, or in a family. The analysis of data revealed that American elementary schools were most often compared to being in a family and secondary schools to being on a team. Hong Kong students, on the other hand, compared elementary schools to being on a team and secondary schools to being in a family.