International Journal of Technology and Design Education (2023) 33:1525–1545

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-022-09780-z

Entrepreneurship, STEM attitude, and career interest

development through 6E learning byDeSIGN™ model based
STEM education

Yasin Yaşar Yazıcı1 · Yasemin Hacıoğlu2 · Uğur Sarı3

Accepted: 21 September 2022 / Published online: 10 October 2022

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2022

Abstract
It is important to raise enterprising individuals in STEM fields so that countries have
individuals, who will play a role in global competition, and this is possible with effective
STEM education. This research aims to reveal the impact of STEM activities, which were
designed using the 6E learning byDeSIGN™ model, in terms of developing middle school
students’ entrepreneurial skills, STEM attitude, and career interests. The STEM activities
were applied for seven weeks / twenty-eight hours with 50 (26 female, 24 male) students in
the research which was carried out by the mixed-method methodology. Before and after the
application, the quantitative data collection tools (STEM Attitude Scale, Interest towards
STEM Professions Scale, and Entrepreneurship Scale) were applied and statistically ana-
lyzed. The qualitative data were collected by semi-structured interviews and evaluated with
content analysis at the end of the application to interpret and support the findings obtained
from these quantitative data. As a result of the research, it was concluded that the atti-
tude and interests of the students towards STEM increased, their entrepreneurship skills
improved and the effect of 6E teaching strategy was great in these positive developments.
Student opinions were also got and discussed for supporting these results.

Keywords 6E learning byDesign™ model · Entrepreneurship · STEM attitude · STEM

career interest · STEM education · Middle-school student

Introduction

The importance of STEM education is increasing day by day to raise a highly equipped
and educated workforce that will provide competitive power on a global scale. How-
ever, students aren’t sufficiently interested in STEM fields in many countries, and there
are workforce shortages in STEM fields (Flower, 2014; Lin et al., 2020; Raju & Clayson,

* Uğur Sarı
usari05@yahoo.com
1
Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Turkey
2
Faculty of Education, Science Education, Giresun University, Giresun, Turkey
3
Faculty of Education, Science Education, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Turkey

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Vol.:(0123456789)
1526 Y. Y. Yazıcı et al.

2010). Research emphasize that early intervention in the education system should increase
students’ career awareness if students pursue a career in the STEM field (Moore & Rich-
ards, 2012; Wyss et al., 2012), the middle school students’ experiences in daily life were
instrumental in guiding their future career development in engineering and STEM educa-
tion increased their interest in STEM fields and related professions (Ing et al., 2014; Sarı
et al., 2018). Creating and developing interest in STEM fields is essential for students to
participate in the workforce in these fields in the future (Knezek et al., 2013). Therefore,
studies are necessary to explore how STEM education can be applied most effectively and
to develop students’ STEM attitude and professional interests.
In addition to the importance of educating qualified STEM specialists who will con-
tribute to scientific and technological developments in STEM fields, one of the features
expected from educated STEM specialists is to have 21st-century skills. STEM education
is an effort to solve real-life problems with interdisciplinary approaches using students’
21st-century skills (Stohlmann et al., 2011). It aims to provide students with the opportu-
nity to work as a team and to gain skills such as cooperation, finance and media literacy,
innovation and entrepreneurship in this process (Obarski et al., 2013). Entrepreneurship
plays a key role in economic growth as a means of innovation and value creation (Elliott
et al., 2020). Jin et al. (2015) state that students can develop their entrepreneurial thoughts
by having first-hand experiences with the help of STEM education. Since students should
be able to research, design and construct in the process of solving real-life problems by
gaining reasoning skills in STEM education, they can contribute to the development of
their entrepreneurial thoughts and produce the necessary tools for national development
and industrialization in their future professional lives (Eltanahy et al., 2020). Therefore,
another important issue examined in this research is the development of students’ entrepre-
neurship skills.
Student-centred approaches (problem-based learning, inquiry-based learning, etc.) that
focus on solving real-life problems coincide with the mission of integrated STEM edu-
cation (Mustafa et al., 2016). The 6E Learning by design teaching method (6E Learning
byDeSIGN™) model was developed based on the 5E teaching model to maximize the con-
cepts of engineering design and inquiry in an integrative way (Burke, 2014). The model
provides a student-centred framework that deliberately and purposefully uses the technol-
ogy (T) and engineering (E) dimension of STEM while incorporating content. Therefore,
in this research, the 6E Learning by design™ model was used to investigate the benefits of
STEM education in improving students’ entrepreneurship skills, attitude towards STEM
disciplines, and professional interests. The STEM activities were designed through the 6E
model and carried out with middle school students, and their effects on STEM attitude, pro-
fessional interests and entrepreneurship skills were investigated. The problems addressed
in the research are as follows: (1) Do 6E-based STEM activities affect students’ STEM
attitude and professional interests? (2) Do 6E-based STEM activities affect students’ entre-
preneurship skills? (3) What do students think about 6E-based STEM activities?

Theoretical framework

6E learning ByDeSIGN™ model based STEM education

What is important and necessary in STEM education is the integration of science and engi-
neering/technology (NRC, 2012a, 2012b). To achieve this goal, it is recommended that the

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Entrepreneurship, STEM attitude, and career interest… 1527

working principles of the disciplines be put to work. In other words, it is necessary and
important to integrate scientific research, inquiry-based science learning, and the design
process, which is the basis of engineering and technology, for the integration of STEM dis-
ciplines (Sanders, 2009). Only by operating the scientific research process can the nature of
science be understood, and only by operating the engineering/technology design process,
an understanding of engineering/technology disciplines can be developed and profession-
als with careers in these fields can be trained. The 5E learning model, which consists of
the stages of engage, explore, explain, enrich and evaluate, is important and effective for
understanding science and operating the scientific research inquiry process (Bybee, 2010).
To understand engineering/technology, it is necessary to put the engineering design pro-
cess to work. Combining these two processes is important to develop an integrative under-
standing of STEM disciplines. For this, the 6E learning byDeSIGN™ model was devel-
oped by Burke (2014) based on the 5E teaching model to maximize—the elaborate phase is
developed as two phases; engineering and enrichment—the concepts of engineering design
and inquiry in an integrative way (see Table 1).
It proposed by the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association to
strengthen students’ design and inquiry skills (Burke, 2014). 6E model provides a student-
centred framework that deliberately and purposefully uses the Technology (T) and Engi-
neering (E) dimensions of STEM. Students are provided with opportunities to realize a
deeper understanding of the core problem through the application of concepts during the
engineering phase students question and integrate inquiry with engineering concepts to
make design decisions in problem solving. While they apply what they have learned to new
situations and new problems in the enrichment phase, they understand and use the concepts
of design, modelling, resources, systems and ethical values (Burke, 2014).
In this research, the 6E learning model was used to design STEM activities, and the
effects of these activities on students’ STEM attitude, professional interests and entrepre-
neurship skills were investigated.

6E learning byDeSIGN™ model based STEM education and STEM attitude, career
interest and career choice

Research show students’ attitude towards STEM and career interests play a key role
in their participation in STEM-related careers (Unfried et al., 2015). Attitude towards
STEM disciplines are important for students’ orientation and success in STEM fields.
However, it is emphasized that students’ attitude towards science generally decrease
as their education progresses (Osborne et al., 2003). For this reason, it is essential to
improve positive student attitude these disciplines from the first stages of education.
Active participation in STEM education is recommended for the positive develop-
ment of student attitude (Chittum et al., 2017). Research show also students’ attitude
towards STEM disciplines as well as STEM career interests are important in increasing
the STEM workforce (Unfried et al., 2015). The middle school ages are an important
time to focus on career development (Wiebe et al., 2018), especially STEM careers.
If students do not have the correct perception of STEM professions or cannot estab-
lish a personal connection with these professions in this process, career options in this
field will not be able to experience a positive development process (Osborne & Collins,
2001). In this process, students should be motivated by learning experiences directly
related to the world they live in and more meaningful learning experiences should be

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1528 Y. Y. Yazıcı et al.

Table 1  6E learning ByDeSIGN™ model and engineering design process

Engineering design process 6E learning byDeSIGN™ model (Burke, 2014)

Determining the scope of the problem
Doing necessary research to develop possible solu-
tions
Developing possible solutions and selecting the
most suitable solution
Building, testing, evaluating and developing the
prototype
Sharing the solution, evaluation and improvement
Engage Attention is drawn to real-life situations,
preliminary information is revealed, and context
is created for what is to be learned at this stage.
Students encounter a teaching task and describe it.
Students are encouraged to put forward different
ideas and ask questions
Explore Students look for solutions to questions by
using inquiry processes. This process includes
guessing, hypothesizing, experimenting with
alternative solutions, and discussing the results.
As students work together as a team, they perform
collaborative experiments that involve sharing and
communicating. Inquiry, data analysis and critical
thinking are emphasized at this stage
Explain Students explain the results of their discovery
process using observation and data. They can reach
generalizations from explanations. The teacher
offers feedback, offers alternative explanations, asks
questions, expands and evaluates explanations
Engineer Students integrate inquiry with engineering
design to make design decisions appropriate to the
solution of the problem. Solution-oriented design
development, prototyping, improvement, evaluation
and redesign processes are carried out
Enrich Students are provided with the opportunity
to explore what they have learned in greater depth
and to transfer concepts to more complex problems.
Students apply their acquired knowledge to new
situations, new problems and daily life
Evaluate Students are encouraged to assess their
understanding and abilities. Students’ progress
towards achieving their educational goals is evalu-
ated. The evaluation covers the entire teaching
process. Rubrics, teacher observation, student
interviews, portfolios and products can be used in
this context

provided to them. Therefore, it is important to increase the students’ career interest in

the early stages, create and improve interest in STEM fields, and participate in the work-
force in these fields in the future in order to positively affect their STEM-oriented career
choices. To achieve this, it is important to engage learners with the working processes
of STEM disciplines (NRC, 2012a, 2012b). Operate the scientific and mathematical
inquiry process is important to increase students’ interest and attitude toward science
and mathematics. Also, operate the design process is important to increase their interest
and attitude towards engineering and technology. In this direction, it can be expected
that the interest and attitude toward STEM disciplines will be improved with the 6E
learning byDesign model, which is based on the integration of the scientific research
process and the design process. In this research, the results of the teaching practices
carried out to explore the benefits of 6E-based STEM activities in improving middle

13
Entrepreneurship, STEM attitude, and career interest… 1529

school students’ STEM attitude and interest in STEM professions will be presented and
discussed with the results of other relevant researchers.

6E learning byDeSIGN™ model based STEM education and entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is defined as a way of thinking and behaving that concerns society and
the economy in general, as well as business skills and starting new ventures (Developing
Entrepreneurial Graduates, 2008), is considered at the beginning of the skills that individu-
als should have in the 21st-century and it is stated that education is the main tool to gain
entrepreneurial characteristics (Ruskovaara & Pihkala, 2013). Entrepreneurship includes
skills that can be developed in the school environment, such as producing different ideas,
utilizing opportunities, innovating, having the will to succeed, taking risks in reaching the
goals, being determined and persistent, realizing various projects and organizations (Çelik
et al., 2015; Deveci & Çepni, 2017). It is important to start the necessary studies at an early
age to raise individuals with advanced entrepreneurship skills. The inclusion of entrepre-
neurship education,which is defined as the process in which students gain a set of skills
that prepare them for the business world and provide them with individual, social and eco-
nomic benefits that they can apply in all areas of their lives- in curricula at all levels has
come to the fore (European Commission, 2011). Research indicate that STEM education
can develop entrepreneurial characteristics (Davis, 2019; Eltanahy et al., 2020; Ezeudu
et al., 2013; Jin et al., 2015). Some of the entrepreneurial process -observe the environ-
ment, discover the needs, express ideas clearly, choose one of the ideas, create a product,
test the product, adapt it to the environment and market it- are compatible with the engi-
neering design process (Buang & Halim, 2007).
For example, in engineering, students cannot solve problems without action, creativity,
understanding context, or a personal attitude that enables them to challenge with uncer-
tainty. In other words, the problem solving in engineering requires action, ideas cannot
be obtained without being creative, the outside world is needed to understand the needs
of customers. The processes also form the dimensions of entrepreneurship (Dahl & Grun-
wald, 2021). Therefore, in the "Engineer" step of the 6E model, entrepreneurship can also
be promoted by allowing students to fundamentally consider problems from a variety of
perspectives such as design, modelling and systematization, or to plan ways to approach
real-world engineering design problems. In this study, the effects of 6E learning byDe-
SIGN™ model on improving students’ entrepreneurship skills were investigated.

Methods

The aim of this research is to explore the effects of 6E-based STEM activities for improv-
ing middle school students’ entrepreneurship skills, STEM attitude and professional inter-
ests. The design of the study is as follows.

13
1530 Y. Y. Yazıcı et al.

Research design

A descriptive mixed-methods research model was used in this study, quantitative and quali-
tative data were collected and analyzed in a single study. A single group pre-test/post-test
experimental design was used in the quantitative dimension of the study and the scales
used are indicated in Table 2. In the qualitative dimension of the research, a case study was
conducted using a semi-structured interview form created by the researchers. In this con-
text, students’ opinions about 6E-based STEM activities were taken after the application.
In the mixed-method research, an explanatory sequential design was used by collecting
qualitative data to help interpret the quantitative findings. For this reason, it can be said
that this study is based on the descriptive mixed method research model, whose quantita-
tive dimension is dominant, as stated by Creswell (2003).

Study group

This study was carried out with 50 fifth (26 girls, 24 boys) grade students, which selected
by convenience sampling -one of the purposeful sampling types- and has the appropriate
number of opportunities and class size for STEM activities, in a public school in Ankara.

Procedure

The study took place from February to June 2018 for seven weeks, with four lessons per
week (40-min lessons). Based on the 5th grade science curriculum outcomes, the activities
(see Table 3) for each learning theme was designed according to the 6E Learning byDe-
SIGN™ model, taking the opinions of science education experts and science teachers. In
the activities, the students worked in collaborative groups of 4–5 pupils. The application
guide and tools for the activities were given to the students, and the teacher became a guide
in this process.
Real world problems were presented to the students in the form of scenarios, and they
were asked to find a solution to the problem and design according to the solution. First,
they generated ideas for the solution (see Fig. 1), and chose the most suitable solution
according to the criteria of the problem.
They prototyped, tested and developed the chosen idea. Then the groups presented their
designs and were assessed together with all the students. In order to explore the benefits of
the 6E learning model in developing students’ STEM attitude, career interests and entre-
preneurship skills, evaluations with scales were conducted in the first and last week of the
research.

Table 2  Single group pre-test/post-test experimental design

Pre-tests Application Post-tests

Entrepreneurship scale 6E-based STEM activities Entrepreneurship scale

STEM attitude questionnaire STEM attitude questionnaire
Interest scale for STEM professions Interest scale for STEM professions
Interview form for STEM activities

13
 Table 3  6E-based STEM activities and learning outcomes
Concept/Challenge Learning outcomes Science Technology Engineering Mathematics Examples of student
The student… designs

Electricity/Toy design Knows that the Simple electrical The choice of materi- Toy design using sim- Using geometric tools
engineering design circuits, circuit als in the design; ple electrical circuit (ruler, compasses
process consists of elements, symbols, attention to useful- (Industrial Design etc.) in design draw-
a series of steps that schematics and ness and cost criteria Engineering) ings
engineers use to installation
solve problems
Shows the elements in
the electrical circuit
with their symbols
Sets up the diagram of
the electrical circuit
s/he has drawn
Entrepreneurship, STEM attitude, and career interest…

Electric circuits/Sta- Knows that engineers Installation of electri- The choice of materi- Designing stadium Creating graphs and
dium lighting design use creativity along cal circuits, the effect als in the design; lighting that will not tables
with science and of the number of attention to useful- cause light pollution Comparing lamp
mathematics knowl- batteries and lamps ness and cost criteria (Electrical engineer- brightness by inter-
edge to solve their on the brightness ing) preting the data
problems
Tests predictions by
predicting what
variables affect the
brightness of a light
bulb in an electrical
circuit
1531

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 Table 3  (continued)
1532

Concept/Challenge Learning outcomes Science Technology Engineering Mathematics Examples of student

The student… designs

13
Force, friction force/ Generates solutions for Movement, friction The choice of materi- Ramp design and Gathering data using
Escape ramp design engineering problems force and its effect als in the design; implementation a dynamometer
and compares them attention to useful- showing the effect of and interpreting
and chooses the most ness and cost criteria friction force against the magnitude of
suitable solution motion frictional force in
within the criteria (Highway Engineer- objects using data
Explores the effect ing)
of friction force on
motion in various
environments by
experimenting
Generates new ideas to
increase or decrease
friction in daily life
Destructive natural Develops problem- Destructive natural The choice of materi- Design and applica- Measuring the
phenomena/Con- solving, teamwork, events, ways of pro- als in the design; tion of earthquake- durability of designs
struction design communication and tection from natural attention to useful- resistant models using a stopwatch
creative thinking disasters ness and cost criteria (Earthquake and and recording data
skills when working Structural Engineer-
with design chal- ing)
lenges
Explains the destruc-
tive natural events
caused by natural
processes
Expresses the ways
of protection from
destructive natural
events
Y. Y. Yazıcı et al.
Entrepreneurship, STEM attitude, and career interest… 1533

Fig. 1  Examples of pupils’ ideas in design products

Data collection tools

STEM attitude scale

The scale developed by Faber et al. (2013) was used to measure middle school students’
STEM attitude. The scale was adapted to Turkish by Yıldırım and Selvi (2015), who con-
ducted its validity and reliability study. The validity of the scale was revealed as a result
of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. In order to determine the construct valid-
ity of the scale, firstly, they performed Kaiser–Meyer–Oklin (KMO) and Bartlett tests on
the data (KMO value = 0.94; The Bartlett test value χ2 = 18,802.521, df = 666, p < 0.05).
In the second stage, they performed confirmatory factor analysis to validate the model
(χ2/df = 4.72; RMSEA = 0.063, SRMR = 0.053, CFI = 0.96, GFI = 0.87, AGFI = 0.85,
NFI = 0.95, IFI = 0.95). There are four sub-factors as mathematics (8 items), science (9
items), engineering and technology (9 items) and 21st-century skills (11 items) and a total
of 37 items in the scale. They calculated the Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of the
scale as 0.94, and the reliability coefficient of the sub-dimensions ranged from 0.86 to 0.89.
They stated that the scale adapted into Turkish can be used to assess middle school stu-
dents’ STEM attitude. The scale is in a 5-point likert type, indicating the degree of stu-
dents’ agreement with the statement as “Strongly agree”, “Agree”, “Undecided”, “Disa-
gree” and “Strongly disagree”. The Cronbach Alpha coefficient of the scale was calculated
as α = 0.770 in this study.

Interest scale for STEM professions

The “STEM Career Interest Survey (STEM-CIS)” developed by Kier et al. (2014) and
adapted into Turkish by Koyunlu Ünlü et al. (2016) was used to measure middle school
students’ STEM career interests. They revealed the validity of the scale as a result of con-
firmatory factor analyses (CFA) four each sub dimension. First, they calculated separately
the fit values of each factor (χ2/df, GFI, AGFI, NFI, CFI, and RMSEA), as they were

13
1534 Y. Y. Yazıcı et al.

calculated in the original scale. Then they performed the secondary level CFA. The scale
consists of science, technology, engineering and mathematics sub-dimensions, each of
which consists of 11 items, and a total of 44 items. The scale is in a 5-point Likert type
and evaluated as “Strongly disagree”, “Disagree”, “Undecided”, “Agree” and “Strongly
agree”. They calculated the reliability as 0.93, 0.86 for science, 0.88 for technology, 0.94
for engineering and 0.90 for mathematics. They stated that the scale adapted into Turkish
can be used to assess middle school students’ (5–8 grades) interest in science, technology,
mathematics, and engineering careers. The Cronbach Alpha coefficient of the scale was
α = 0.726 in this study.

Entrepreneurship scale

The scale developed by Çelik et al. (2015) is 5-point Likert type. It consists of 28 items
and four factors: communication-self-confidence (9 items), creativity (9 items), risk-taking
(6 items), and the need to achieve (4 items). In order to determine the construct validity
of the scale, firstly, they performed Kaiser–Meyer–Oklin (KMO) and Bartlett tests on the
data (KMO value = 0.910; The Bartlett test value χ2 = 2896,236). In the second stage, they
performed confirmatory factor analysis to validate the model (χ2(344) = 650.1, p < 0.001,
χ2/d = 1.89, RMSEA = 0.061, GFI = 0.89, AGFI = 0.91, CFI = 0.9, and IFI = 0.89). They
were stated that scale items and factors explained 52% of the total variance. The Cron-
bach’s alpha reliability coefficient of the scale was 0.91, and the reliability coefficient of
the sub-dimensions ranged from 0.76 to 0.92. The scale is in a 5-point Likert type and
for each item to determine the entrepreneurial characteristics of students, the options are
“Strongly disagree”, “Slightly agree”, “Agree”, “Agree a lot”, “Strongly agree”. The Cron-
bach Alpha reliability coefficient was α = 0.931 in this study.

Semi‑structured interview form

In the qualitative part of the study, a 5-question semi-structured interview form developed
by the researchers was used to determine the students’ opinions on 6E-based STEM activi-
ties. The questions of the form were prepared by the researcher and the final form was
given by taking the opinions of two science education experts for content validity. The
interview form, which was used to determine the feelings and thoughts of the students
about the subject, was applied to the whole study group after the activities. The identities
of the participants were kept confidential, and male students were coded with the letter
“M” and female students with the letter “F”, and they were named as M1, M2, F1, F2… in
the study.

Data analysis

IBM SPSS Statistics 25/PC statistical program was used for the analysis of quantitative data
in the research. The dependent sample t-test was conducted to determine whether there is a
significant relationship between the pre-test and post-test scores of the scales applied to the
students. This test shows whether the applied procedure has a significant effect on the sam-
ple and is used only for samples with normal distribution. The normality test of the data
was performed with the Shapiro–Wilk test, and it was observed that the data showed nor-
mal distribution with 95% confidence (­ pSTEMattitude = 0.686 > 0.5; ­pSTEM interest = 0.550 > 0.5;

13
Entrepreneurship, STEM attitude, and career interest… 1535

­pEntrepreneurship = 0.255 > 0.5). In the study, the level of significance between variables was
accepted as p < 0.05.
Cohen’s d effect size was calculated as another criterion that shows whether the differ-
ence between the results of the groups in the study is significant or not. The results obtained
by calculating and interpreting this value have been made more meaningful (Büyüköztürk,
2015). In general, it is reported that the effect size can be defined as weak if the d value is
less than 0.2, medium if it is 0.5, and strong if it is greater than 0.8 (Kılıç, 2014).
In the analysis of qualitative data, codes, themes and frequency values of codes were
determined by using the content analysis technique. The categories determined indepen-
dently by two researchers were compared to ensure the reliability of the codes. The analy-
sis of the data continued until a consensus was reached among the researchers. The pre-
sented findings are the conclusions that the researchers have reached consensus on.

Results

The effect of 6E-based STEM activities on improving middle school students’ entrepre-
neurship skills, STEM attitude and career interests was examined in this study. In addi-
tion, students’ opinions about the applications were evaluated. The dependent sample t-test
results regarding whether there is a significant difference in students’ attitude towards
STEM before and after the application are given in Table 4.
According to the results of the analysis, there is a significant difference in favour of
the post-test between the pre-test and post-test scores in the whole scale (p < 0.05). While
the mean of the pre-test and post-test was X̄ (pre) = 3.58, X̄ (post) = 3.91. Cohen’s d value
is 1.07, which means strong effect size (Büyüköztürk, 2015). According to these results,
6E-based STEM activities positively affected students’ STEM attitude. While there was
a significant difference in favour of the post-test in the science, engineering and technol-
ogy and 21st-century skills sub-dimensions of the scale, no statistically significant differ-
ence was observed in the mathematics dimension (Table 4). Cohen’s d value is medium
in science and 21st-century skills and strong in engineering and technology. According to
this result, while the activities were effective in improving students’ attitude towards 21st-
century skills, engineering and technology, and science, they did not cause any change in
their attitude towards mathematics.

Table 4  Dependent sample T-Test results for the whole STEM attitude scale and sub-factors
Test N X̄ SS t SD p Cohen’s d

Maths Pre-test 50 3.47 .75 − 1.60 49 .116 0.29

Post-test 50 3.68 .70
Science Pre-test 50 3.54 .63 − 2.63 49 .011 0.49
Post-test 50 3.85 .61
Engineering and technology Pre-test 50 3.29 .49 − 4.72 49 .000 1.01
Post-test 50 3.87 .65
21st-century skills Pre-test 50 4.04 .47 − 2.19 49 .034 0.43
Post-test 50 4.24 .45
Total Pre-test 50 3.58 .29 − 5.32 49 .000 1.07
Post-test 50 3.91 .31

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1536 Y. Y. Yazıcı et al.

Table 5  Dependent sample Test N X̄ SS t SD p Cohen’s d

T-Test Results for the whole
interest scale and its sub-
Science Pre-test 50 3.25 .38 − 7.54 49 .000 1.58
dimensions for STEM
professions Post-test 50 3.96 .40
Maths Pre-test 50 3.09 .65 − 1.16 49 .215 0.23
Post-test 50 3.25 .71
Technology Pre-test 50 3.58 .53 − 2.53 49 .014 0.51
Post-test 50 3.86 .57
Engineering Pre-test 50 3.14 .66 − 7.72 49 .000 1.81
Post-test 50 4.05 .48
Total Pre-test 50 3.26 .25 − 9.70 49 .000 2.01
Post-test 50 3.78 .26

The dependent sample t-test results of the students’ interest scale scores for STEM
professions before and after the application are given in Table 5.
According to the analysis results, there is a significant difference between the pre-test
and post-test scores in favour of the post-test (p < 0.05). While the mean of the pre-test
and post-test was X̄ (pre) = 3.26, X̄ (post) = 3.78. Cohen’s d value is the strong effect
size (2.01). According to these results, students’ interest in STEM professions increased
after the applications. While there was a significant difference in favour of the post-test
in the science, engineering and technology sub-dimensions, there was no statistically
significant difference in the mathematics sub-dimension (Table 5). According to this
result, after the activities, while the interest of the students in the professions of sci-
ence, engineering and technology disciplines increased, their interest in the professions
related to the mathematics discipline did not change.
The pre-test post-test dependent sample t-test results for the entrepreneurship skills
scale are given in Table 6.
According to the data, there is a significant difference between the pre-test and
post-test scores of the students in the whole entrepreneurship skill scale and its sub-
dimensions (p < 0.05). While X̄(pre) = 87.34 for pre-test, X̄(post) = 110.08 for post-test.
Cohen’s d values range from 0.64 to 1.89 in the whole scale and the sub-factors, with
medium and high effect size. According to these findings, 6E-based STEM activities

Table 6  Dependent Sample T-Test Results for Entrepreneurship Scale and Sub-Factors
Test N X̄ SS t SD p Cohen’s d

Contact-confidence Pre-test 50 27.64 4.75 − 9.50 49 .000 1.89

Post-test 50 36.54 4.65
Creativity Pre-test 50 28.00 6.34 − 8.63 49 .000 1.46
Post-test 50 36.40 5.11
Taking risk Pre-test 50 19.78 3.96 − 3.96 49 .000 0.80
Post-test 50 22.88 3.81
Need for achievement Pre-test 50 11.92 3.83 − 3.65 49 .001 0.64
Post-test 50 14.26 3.45
Total Pre-test 50 87.34 16.17 − 8.57 49 .000 1.5
Post-test 50 110.08 13.87

13
Entrepreneurship, STEM attitude, and career interest… 1537

were very effective in the improvement of entrepreneurship skills of middle school

students.
It was evaluated the opinions of the students about the applications and their views are
presented in two categories as positive and negative effects -difficulties- of 6E based STEM
activities. The findings are presented in tables with quotations from the answers of the par-
ticipants (Tables 7 and 8).
When Table 7 is examined, it is observed that the activities caused positive effects on
the learning process, attitude and motivations, skill development and professional interests.
The students stated that they learned, the activities increased their attitude and motivations
positively and develop their skills. In addition, it was observed that the students’ interest in
engineering fields increased with the activities.
Students’ negative opinions about 6E-based STEM activities were gathered under the
theme of difficulties (Table 8). Difficulties such as collaboration problems in activities, dif-
ficulties in design, time problem, difficulties in choosing and using materials, and difficul-
ties in design challenge conditions were determined.

Discussion

The effect of 6E-based STEM activities on improving middle school students’ STEM atti-
tude, STEM career interests and entrepreneurship skills was investigated in this study. It
was concluded that the attitude and professional interests of the students towards STEM
increased, and the effect of 6E-based STEM activities was strong in this increase. In addi-
tion, the opinions about students’ having fun and an enjoyable time about the learning pro-
cess, learning to use the information in the lessons, and trying to adapt what they learned to
new situations can be an indication that they develop positive interest and attitude towards
STEM activities. There are many studies in the literature reporting that STEM education
has an impact on students’ interests, attitude, and perceptions (Beier et. al., 2019; Hacio-
glu & Gulhan, 2021; Sarı et al., 2018; Tseng et al., 2013), and it is an expected situation
from STEM education. It should not be forgotten that the negative opinions of students
about the process, although not in the majority, can negatively affect their STEM fields and
attitude. STEM learning environments should be organized in a way that will increase the
motivation of students to increase their interest and attitude in STEM fields. Examining
this situation separately in the context of STEM disciplines will be beneficial in terms of
research results. When the research results are evaluated according to the sub-factors of the
attitude and professional interest scales, while the students’ science, engineering and tech-
nology, 21st-century skill attitude and professional interests increase significantly, there is
no significant change in their attitude towards mathematics and their professional interests
(Tables 4 and 5). The greatest positive effect of 6E learning activities was in the attitude
towards engineering and technology (Cohen’s d = 1.012) and engineering profession inter-
est (Cohen’s d = 1.806). The reason for the increase in science attitude can be considered
as students’ accessing to information through the questioning process in 6E learning, using
this information to design products to solve real-life problems and thus realizing that sci-
ence works and wanting to have more information (Sarı et al., 2018). Again, it is thought
that during the STEM education process, students’ access to information like a scientist by
doing research and inquiry and applying it to real-life problems positively affect their inter-
ests and attitude towards science. According to the students’ views on the activities, the
views such as increasing the interest in the science lesson, learning with fun, associating

13
 Table 7  Student opinions on the positive effects of 6E-based STEM activities
Theme Code
13
Effect on learning Learning with fun
Comprehend knowledge
To be instructive
Permanent learning
Associating with daily life
Topic reinforcement
Attitude and motivation effect Interest in the lesson
Enjoyment
Liking activities
Take on the engineering role
Feeling good
Skill development Hand skill
Creativity
Teamwork
Building self-confidence
Imagination
Problem-solving
Decision-making skills
Communication skill
Thinking skill
1538
Frequency Example phrases
27 The lessons are funny and good, I like to do new things. (M11)
10 I think that I understand the subjects better thanks to the activities. (F19)
6 It is a lot of fun and our skills are improving, and it also contributes to the science lesson. (F10)
4 These activities enabled me to attend the lessons more and the subjects to be more permanent.
(F4)
3 I also use what I learned in class at home. (M2)
2
23 The activities affected my interest and motivation in science lessons very well, now I love it even
more. (M19)
12 I always want to have a science lesson; I don’t understand how time passes. (F4)
9 I realized that engineers have a difficult job and need imagination. (M8)
7 Thanks to these activities, I feel like an engineer. (M11)
4
15 My hand skills and confidence in myself and my friends have increased. (M8)
13 It has improved my creativity a lot. Now I can find an instant solution to a problem. (M19)
12 Our teamwork had a very positive effect on me. (M14)
9 I can express my thoughts better. (F22)
8 My imagination has improved. Now I can solve problems immediately. (M21)
8 We discussed our ideas and decided what we liked best. (M2)
5
4
2
Y. Y. Yazıcı et al.
 Table 7  (continued)
Theme Code
Professional interest Science teacher
Electrical Electronics Engineer 10
Construction engineer
Computer engineer
Mechanical engineer
Architect
13
Frequency Example phrases
27 I was thinking about mechanical engineering. Thanks to these activities, my engineering knowl-
edge increased, and I became more precise. (F18)
I want to be a neurosurgeon. What we did in science class made me think of being an engineer.
(F24)
6 I wanted to be a doctor, but after these activities, I decided to become an architect. (M7)
5 I wanted to be a judge, but now I want to be an electrical engineer. (M6)
5
4
Entrepreneurship, STEM attitude, and career interest…
1539
1540 Y. Y. Yazıcı et al.

Table 8  Students’ opinions on the difficulties experienced in the activities

Theme Codes Frequency Example phrases

Difficulties Collaboration issue 9 My classmates didn’t sometimes help. (F24)

Difficulty in design 5 The duration of the event was making us panic.
(M20)
Time problems 3 We had difficulties in material selection (M3)
Material usage difficulty 3 It was difficult to place the lamps in the stadium.
(F16)
Difficulty in material selection 2 There was a slight excitement, nervousness and
Mission conditions difficulty 1 setback in my team. (M10)

with real life, comprehending knowledge also support this interpretation (Table 7). In par-
allel with these results, it is noteworthy that the students stated that they preferred to be
science teachers. It should not be forgotten that the teacher who conducts the process and
the scientific process is effective in these elections. In many studies in the literature, it is
reported that STEM education increases students’ interest in science (Naizer et al., 2014;
Tseng et al., 2013). Engineering has a unifying role in the integration of STEM disciplines
requires the scientific research, inquiry and design process requires employing science and
mathematics knowledge and skills together (Cavlazoglu & Stuessy, 2018; Guzey et al.,
2020; Johns & Mentzer, 2016; NRC, 2012a, 2012b; Roehrig et al., 2021). Therefore, in
this study, where the design process was used together with 6E-based STEM activities and
research inquiry process, students’ attitude towards science, interest and attitude towards
engineering and technology increased, and the activities carried out on this increase were
strong. Roberts (2012) associated this situation with students’ studying with the nature of
these disciplines. It is possible to come across many studies concluding that engineering/
engineering design process activities increase students’ interest in engineering (Schnittka,
2009; Suescun-Florez et al., 2013). One of the most important goals of STEM education is
to train qualified individuals who grow in these fields and to enable them to turn to engi-
neering fields (NRC, 2012a, 2012b). In this study, students’ interest in technology-related
professions increased, although the technology was carried out as a part of the engineer-
ing design process. In addition, students’ interests and attitude towards technology-related
professions can be increased with coding and robotic activities that strengthen technology
integration (Eguchi, 2016; Hacıoğlu & Dönmez Usta, 2020). It is obvious in this research
that students’ interest and attitude towards STEM-based activities and especially the engi-
neering profession have increased (Hacioglu & Gulhan, 2021). It is also important for the
results of the research that some students stated that they preferred another profession
before the activities, but that they decided to turn to the engineering profession because
they got to know the engineering profession through these activities. This situation can also
be interpreted as the effort to reach the goals expected from STEM education is appropri-
ate and reveals the necessity of continuing the studies. In addition, Hacioglu and Gulhan
(2021) stated in their study that some students decided not to prefer the engineering profes-
sion, unlike most students in this study, with the increase in students’ awareness of profes-
sions during STEM education, and they emphasized that this result is important for proper
career planning. The presence of students stating that the engineering profession is difficult
strengthens this emphasis in this study. However, it should not be forgotten that negative
opinions such as being able to work in cooperation with the process, design difficulty, and
material usage are mostly related to the engineering discipline and may negatively affect

13
Entrepreneurship, STEM attitude, and career interest… 1541

the engineering interest and attitude of the students. It is important to consider these opin-
ions, especially when working with students who have limited experience in engineering
integration, as in this study.
The lack of significant increase in students’ interest and attitude towards mathemat-
ics can be explained by the fact that the activities are prepared with a focus on science
and engineering, and the integration of mathematics and technology remains as a tool.
Although it is expected to ensure the quality integration of the four disciplines in STEM
activities and to work like STEM experts, this is not always possible. In this case, it is rec-
ommended to focus on the integration of at least two disciplines (Sanders, 2009; Shaugh-
nessy, 2013). In this study, it is observed that science and engineering disciplines are in the
focus when the process is examined. This situation affects students’ mathematics attitude.
If the integration of mathematical modelling suggested for STEM education is allowed
more, students’ attitude towards mathematics can also increase significantly. Studies show-
ing that mathematics-oriented STEM activities, interdisciplinary mathematics or mathe-
matical modelling activities affect students’ STEM attitude, especially mathematics inter-
ests and attitude support this prediction (Blum & Ferri, 2009; Kim et al., 2014). Similar to
the results of this study, Saad (2014) concluded in his study with 8th grade students that
there was an increase in male students’ interest in science, but no increase in their interest
in mathematics. Sarı et al. (2018) stated that student attitude developed positively in the
sub-dimensions of science, engineering, technology and 21st-century skills, but there was
no change in math attitude.
Students’ attitude towards 21st-century skills increased significantly and this increase
was reflected in student opinions. Students stated that 6E activities improved their 21st-
century skills such as teamwork, creativity, problem solving and cooperation. STEM edu-
cation is expected to require students to develop 21st-century skills or raise awareness
about these skills as they need to use these skills in the process. It is stated in the litera-
ture that STEM education improves students’ 21st-century skills such as creativity, criti-
cal thinking, decision making, problem solving, responsibility, communication and coop-
eration (Bozkurt Altan & Tan, 2021; Hacioglu & Gulhan, 2021). Although the students
emphasized the development of hand skills, creativity, and teamwork skills during STEM
activities, the fact that they stated that studying in cooperation was one of the most difficult
situations revealed the importance of working to develop these skills. As a result, STEM
education develops students 21st-century skills.
Although the students did not directly express it in their opinions, quantitative findings
showed that 6E-based STEM activities had a positive effect on the development of entre-
preneurship skills (World Economic Forum, 2009), which is one of the 21st-century skills.
It was concluded that the students’ skills of communication, self-confidence, creativity,
risk-taking and the need to succeed, which are the sub-dimensions of entrepreneurship,
increased. Although the students do not directly express their views on entrepreneurship,
the fact that they present opinions on the development of these skills (Deveci & Çepni,
2017), which are the characteristics of the entrepreneurial individual, supports the quanti-
tative results. Studies have shown that STEM education improves students’ entrepreneur-
ship skills (Caldwell et al., 2018; Jin et al., 2015). It can be said that this situation is related
to the realization of the entrepreneurial individual characteristics of the engineering design
process (Dahl & Grunwald, 2021). In this research, the students were faced with a design
problem to solve, while performing this design challenge, they worked in cooperation and
communication in the context of certain criteria and limitations, used creative thinking pro-
cesses to solve the problem, and took risks in a self-confident manner by collecting infor-
mation to realize the design. These are important factors in the development of students’

13
1542 Y. Y. Yazıcı et al.

entrepreneurial skills. It is expected that these processes should be included in the activi-
ties purposefully and consciously within the scope of the 6E model, and develop an inter-
est and attitude towards 21st-century skills, entrepreneurship and its sub-dimensions. It is
reported in the literature that STEM activities, in which the engineering design process that
requires creativity is applied, enables the development of creative skills of students (Boz-
kurt Altan & Tan, 2021; Denson, 2015; Ozkan & Umdu Topsakal, 2021). Deveci (2018)
showed that STEM activities increase students’ entrepreneurial characteristics such as tak-
ing risks, seeing opportunities, self-confidence, being innovative and emotionally intelli-
gent. These results reveal that students should be allowed to show and develop their entre-
preneurial characteristics to develop their entrepreneurship (Entrepreneurial Project, 2007).
Entrepreneurship is important for students taking STEM education to develop their skills
to recognize and act on business opportunities (Dahl & Grunwald, 2021). In this context, it
is very valuable that 6E- based STEM activities develop students’ entrepreneurial skills. In
addition, the activities that contribute to the development of students’ entrepreneurial skills
will also be beneficial for them to gain the skills of creativity, innovation and cooperation
with others.

Conclusion

As a result, it can be said that the use of the 6E learning model in STEM learning environ-
ments contributes to learners’ STEM attitude, STEM career interests and skill develop-
ment. In the 6E model, which emphasizes scientific inquiry, students use technology and
engineering dimensions consciously and purposefully. It can be said that this process posi-
tively affects students’ STEM attitude and STEM career interests. In the "Engineer" step
of the 6E model, students’ approach to the problem with a design perspective, generating
ideas for solutions with creative thinking in collaboration and communication, taking risks
in the process and designing confidently, their entrepreneurial skills. With the use of the 6E
model in STEM learning environments, the goals of STEM education for students can be
achieved.
In this study, STEM activities were carried out with easily accessible simple materials.
It is believed that if teachers have sufficient awareness in STEM education, they can easily
apply STEM activities in their classrooms. Thus, the widespread effect of the study will
also increase.
When the positive effects of the study on the development of entrepreneurship skills
and the positive results in the literature regarding the integration of entrepreneurship with
science education (Dahl & Grunwald, 2021; Deveci & Cepni, 2017) are evaluated together,
the use of the 6E learning byDeSIGN™ model in science classrooms can contribute to the
development of entrepreneurship skills. Every educator should be able to carry out activi-
ties that will increase the entrepreneurship of students in his/her own class. Since the 5E
model has been used in learning environments for years and the 6E model integrates engi-
neering design into this model, teachers can easily develop activities using the 6E model
and apply them in their classrooms.
The study is limited to four activities applied to the 5th grade students of a middle-
school within the scope of science lesson. Working within the different levels of education
can provide guidance and future work can be done with other science contents at another
grade or education level.
Acknowledgements This study is a part of Yasin Yaşar Yazıcı’s master thesis.

13
Entrepreneurship, STEM attitude, and career interest… 1543

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