@phdthesis{discovery10020284,
            year = {1997},
           title = {Metaphorical use of language in educational discourse : a theoretical and empirical investigation.},
            note = {Thesis: (PhD) University of London Institute of Education 1997..},
          school = {Institute of Education, University of London},
             url = {http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.265075},
          author = {Cameron, Lynne Joan.},
        abstract = {This thesis investigates metaphor used by teachers and textbook writers, and the impact
on children. The theoretical investigation clarifies definitions and descriptions of
metaphor, to establish a valid, adequate framework for analysis of metaphor in ordinary,
contextualised interaction. A "prosaics of metaphor" is developed, including metaphor
identification procedures, a set of graded descriptors of metaphor, and interactional units
of analysis to investigate metaphor in talk. Theoretical issues of the coherence of the
category "prosaic metaphor", and the relation between prosaic and poetic metaphor, are
discussed.
Two linked empirical investigations are centred around a ten year old child's discourse
experience in a U.K. primary classroom. The first analyses transcribed talk, collected
across several different lessons, for use of metaphor in relation to teaching/learning
goals. Results include information on the frequency, distribution and nature of metaphor
in use, and insights into how metaphor is signalled and supported in teacher-pupil
interaction. Metaphor use is explained in terms of contextual demands, and the set of
graded metaphor descriptors is refined. The second investigation uses a variation of
Think Aloud methodology to explore understanding of metaphors in scientific texts.
Analysis shows how knowledge brought to a text, selection of metaphors, the place of
metaphor in text structure, and peer or adult mediation can influence understanding and
learning.
The study reveals how metaphor choice can oversimplify concepts and skills which
children need to acquire in the middle years of education. Interaction is shown as central
in providing access to new ideas through metaphor. These results carry implications for
textbook writers, teachers, and others who may mediate content through metaphor. The
thesis contributes to the field of metaphor studies through links found between child and
adult use of metaphor, and through the development of tools for analysing metaphor in
interaction, which can be refined and extended to other discourse contexts.}
}