Understanding teachers’ attitude toward educational reforms through metaphors

•Teachers’ attitude toward educational reforms through metaphors.•Teachers hold negative perceptions toward educational reforms.•Concrete, abstract, cognitive and emotional teachers relating to educational reform.•Metaphors can guide teachers’ learning and practice.•Using teachers’ metaphor model to support empower and motivate them.

This qualitative study examines what representations of metaphors are held by teachers and how those representations express teachers’ positions about change through educational reform. Metaphors indicate that teachers hold negative perceptions toward educational reforms. Findings signify the contradictions between what teachers are expecting and what they are experiencing in their everyday reality during educational reforms. The study present four “types” of teachers differing from each other how they experience and deal with the reforms. All four “types” of teachers strongly believe that extensive reform is needed, but each need different supports to lead the change.