The content analysis of studies conducted on STEM and entrepreneurship in the science education in Turkey: A descriptive content analysis study

Rapidly evolving technological and societal dynamics in today's world have paved the way for the development of contemporary educational approaches such as STEM and entrepreneurship. These approaches, which have gained increasing importance particularly within the context of science education, play a significant role in helping students acquire 21st-century skills such as creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration. In this regard, the present study aims to examine master's theses, doctoral dissertations, and research articles related to STEM and entrepreneurship in science education in Turkey between 2013 and 2025, with accessible full texts, through content analysis. For data collection, databases such as Google Scholar, ULAKBİM, Web of Science, Scopus, and the Council of Higher Education Thesis Center were searched. As a result of the screening process, a total of 30 studies—including 2 doctoral dissertations, 18 master's theses, and 10 research articles—were included in the analysis. These studies were systematically examined based on various variables, including type of publication, year of publication, university where the study was conducted, number of authors, research type and method, level and size of sample, sampling method, data collection tools, and data analysis techniques. Findings indicate that 60% of the studies were master's theses, 33% were research articles, and 7% were doctoral dissertations. The majority of the studies were conducted between 2019 and 2021, mainly at Gazi University, Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, and Kırıkkale University. Of these studies, 51% employed experimental designs, and 47% utilized mixed methods, with "mixed" and "explanatory" designs being prominent. While 57% of the sample groups consisted of middle school students, undergraduate students, teachers, and primary school students were also represented. Sample sizes mostly ranged from 11 to 100 participants, and the most commonly used sampling methods were "convenience" (63%) and "purposeful" sampling (33%). Among the data collection tools, questionnaires (36.36%), interviews (27.27%), and alternative assessment scales (15.15%) were the most commonly used. "Likert-type questionnaires" and "semi-structured interviews" emerged as the dominant techniques. In terms of data analysis, 51.47% of the studies used inferential quantitative analysis, 39.71% used qualitative analysis, and 8.82% used descriptive quantitative approaches. The most frequently applied analysis techniques included the t-test, content analysis, and descriptive analysis. These findings reveal that academic studies on STEM and entrepreneurship have increased over time and have demonstrated methodological diversification. This study aims to provide a systematic and comprehensive contribution to the existing literature on these subjects. Keywords: content analysis, entrepreneurship, STEM education.