Content area
The research titled “Metaphors Related to Institutional Management Used by Teachers at a Language Institute in Lima” aims to analyze to analyze the metaphors related to institutional management used by the teachers of a language institute in Lima. The core category of this study is institutional management, conceptualized as a set of actions integrating planning, leadership, and control to achieve institutional objectives and enhance educational quality.
This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews as the primary data collection technique. Six teachers with at least seven years of experience in the institution were selected as informants, chosen for their knowledge of the organizational environment. Their responses revealed conceptual and linguistic metaphors that reflect the orientations and tensions within institutional management.
Key findings include metaphors such as "poner mano dura" and "ser buena gente" which highlight tensions between rigor and flexibility in supervision. Expressions like "the student as a client" reveal the duality between the educational mission and commercial logic, while metaphors such as "new winds" and "building castles in the air" underscore communication barriers and expectations for leadership renewal. These metaphors, beyond individual perceptions, reveal collective patterns about organizational dynamics and critical areas for improvement.
The study concludes that metaphors are both analytical and generative tools that capture the complexity of institutional management while providing deeper insights into teachers’ perceptions. This approach contributes to identifying organizational challenges and designing strategies to strengthen management practices in educational institutions.