Examination of STEM education studies in Turkey in terms of various variables

The main aim of this study is to compile studies on STEM education in fields such as science, physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, classroom teaching, computer education, and educational programs in Turkey and to evaluate and analyze them based on some variables (research methods used, years of study, universities and branches of science, graduate levels, population/sample, data collection and data analysis techniques). A descriptive study was conducted as a research method. Studies on STEM education were collected using keywords such as "STEM Education", "FeTeMM Education". The sample of this study consisted of open access-theses related to STEM education in fields such as science, physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, classroom teaching, computer education and educational programs in YÖK (the Council of Higher Education) database as well as the accessible electronic articles about STEM education in fields such as science, physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, classroom teaching, computer education and educational programs in the Gazi University Central Library and Google Academic database. A total of 124 studies were reviewed in this context. The answers to the questions were presented in tables with frequency and percentage values. According to the results of the questions to be answered, the three most commonly used methods in the studies examined were experimental method (f=62), composite pattern (f=46) and case study (f=28). It has been determined that the majority of STEM studies were conducted in 2019 (f=43). The university with the most studies was Gazi University (f=10) and the science field with the most studies was science education (f=101). It was concluded that the majority of studies (f=79) were at the Master's level, while the fewest (f=12) were at the Doctorate level when the studies were examined based on postgraduate levels. In addition to postgraduate studies, 33 STEM-related articles published in various journals were reviewed. It was found that the majority of the studies were conducted at the secondary school level (f=56) when the population/sample distribution was examined. The first three most commonly used data collection tools were in the form of scale (f=85), interview form (f=56) and academic achievement test (f=29). The content analysis (f=62) and descriptive analysis (f=53) were the most commonly employed ones when the distribution of data analysis techniques in the studies was evaluated with the t-test (f=57) being the most commonly used as a test. Since STEM education has only recently begun to be recognized and implemented in our country, it has been observed that the majority of studies were conducted in 2019.