Examining postgraduate theses on the use of educational robotics in science education: A content analysis study

The aim of this study is to comprehensively examine postgraduate theses conducted in Turkey on educational robotics applications in science education. The research employed the thematic content analysis method. Data were obtained from a total of 40 theses-4 doctoral and 36 master's-published between 2012 and 2024, identified through a review of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) National Thesis Center. The theses were analyzed using descriptive and content analysis methods in terms of their general characteristics (type and year, gender of researchers and advisors) and content-related characteristics (objectives, methods, subject area, robotics set and programming language, implementation environment, instructional approach/method, mode of integration, findings, and recommendations). The findings were presented in tables including themes, codes, and frequency values. The analysis revealed that the majority of the examined works were master's theses published in 2023, with most researchers being female and most advisors being male. The most common research method was quantitative, and tests and interviews were the most frequently used data collection tools. The studies were generally conducted with middle school samples of 31–50 participants, and physics topics were the most frequently chosen subject area. While the effects of educational robotics applications were mostly investigated in relation to cognitive and affective skills, psychomotor skills were addressed to a much lesser extent, and the relationship of these variables to gender was rarely examined. The activities were mostly integrated into science courses by the researchers themselves through a learning-by-design approach and implemented face-to-face in public schools using LEGO sets and block-based programming tools. Furthermore, the thesis results predominantly emphasized the positive effects of educational robotics on cognitive and affective skills, and offered recommendations for the restructuring of educational policies, teacher training curricula, and instructional materials to further enhance these skills.