Content Analysis of STEM-Oriented Studies in Science Education: 2017–2021

Abstract

Recently, the number of studies oriented to multidisciplinary science education is becoming more widespread with the increasing prevalence of 21 century-based applications. It is necessary to determine the subjects that are focused on educational research and the subjects that are studied frequently or rarely in order to draw a framework. Identifying science, technology, engineering, and mathematic (STEM) -oriented studies in science education with systematic content analysis accelerates researchers working in this field and gives them clarity about the subjects, samples, and a variety of variables. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine STEM-oriented studies in science education between 2017 and 2021 with systematic content analysis in terms of different variables in Turkey. The study was conducted according to certain criteria. Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases and indexes were examined. the number of publications made in Turkish is greater than the number of publications in English. One of the striking findings in the data obtained is that the number of publications with two authors is the highest compared with the distribution of the number of other authors. The journal that has published the most articles is Science Activities-Projects and Curriculum Ideas. The most used sample is composed of secondary school students, and the most preferred range as the sample type is between 11 and 30. There is an almost equal ratio between the research methods (quantitative and qualitative) used in the studies. It is seen that the tools classified as alternative evaluations are used the most in the studies, whereas concept maps are the least used data collection tool. It is thought that the study will guide researchers who will conduct STEM-oriented studies in science education and will help with popular trend topics that have been widely discussed recently in Turkey.