Abstract:

The main aim of this study was to reveal the effect of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in the science course on the academic success of students compared to the traditional method using the meta-analysis method. The study included all master's theses, doctoral theses and articles that examined the effect of STEM education on the academic success of students compared to the traditional method between 2010-2020 and were published in our country in accordance with the determined criteria. As a result of the literature review, 28 studies that could be included in the meta-analysis were found. As a result of the study, the overall effect size value of STEM education on students' academic success compared to traditional methods was calculated as 1.010 (95% confidence interval). This value corresponds to a very high effect level according to the classification of Cohen's et al. (2007 cited by Saraç, 2018). How the effect sizes of the studies included in the study differed according to the target group, sample size, learning domain and the application time moderators was examined. As a result of the moderator analyses, a significant difference was found in favor of the studies with 50 and more samples between the sample sizes of the studies examined. A significant difference was found in favor of the effect size of the "Physical Events" learning domain between the effect sizes of the learning domains. When the distribution of students' grade level and experimental application time in terms of effect sizes in the studies examined was examined, no statistically significant difference was found. This study is important in that it attempts to understand how effective STEM education practices are in science education in our country compared to traditional methods and current science curriculum. Furthermore, it will contribute to our literature in terms of examining the studies on STEM from a holistic perspective.

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