PERCEPTION OF THE CONCEPT OF LOVE AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Values are among the most important elements which ensure the sustainability of societies. It is a reality that nations which do not protect their values and transfer them to new generations suffer from serious problems. Love is one of the most important values which ensure that social life continues in unity and cohesion. The purpose of this paper is to display the perception of "love" value, which is one of the most important elements in social life, among 12th grade female and male high school students. Open-ended written opinion form was used in the study. The students who participated in the study were asked to fill in the spaces in the expression "Love is like.. Because.." with appropriate phrases. In this way, the metaphor and the reasons for which it was chosen were obtained. In the study, students produced 36 metaphors in total concerning the concept of love. Based on the results obtained from this research, it can be said that students see the concept of love as a sacred value and identify it with their parents or boyfriend-girlfriend whose loss they cannot imagine. Considering the age of students, boyfriend-girlfriend and mother-father are indispensable beings for them. In addition, mentioning metaphors such as animals, human and life when "love" is mentioned can be accepted as an indicator of positive meanings attached to the concept of love by students. It is believed that the education received by students and their general social structure play essential role in obtaining these results.