Integrated STEM Education: A Content Analysis of Three STEM Education Research Journals

Abstract

In this content analysis, the authors examined articles from three international STEM journals to highlight and indicate if there were any trends for iSTEM research from 2013 to 2018. Of the 296 articles analyzed in this content analysis, 41 investigated the integration of STEM disciplines. Findings revealed that integrated STEM (iSTEM) education research is often qualitative and occurs in the United States. This study also indicates an upward trend in the percentage of iSTEM education research from 2013 to 2018, and many of the articles focused on middle school students. A closer examination of the introductions, backgrounds, and literature reviews of the 41 articles revealed four explicit definitions for iSTEM education. Furthermore, STEM and Education were the most frequently used author keywords and ERIC descriptors.