Journals / Fen Matematik Girişimcilik ve Teknoloji Eğitimi Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 9 Sayı: 2

The Role of Educational Robotics Competitions on Middle School Students’ Entrepreneurial Tendencies

Eğitsel Robotik Yarışmalarının Ortaokul Öğrencilerinin Girişimcilik Eğilimleri Üzerindeki Rolü

Uğur Büyük(ERCİYES ÜNİVERSİTESİ, EĞİTİM FAKÜLTESİ)0000-0002-6830-8349
Pages
—
Publication Date
2026-06-02
DOI
—
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The findings indicate that students participating in robotic competitions exhibit high levels of overall entrepreneurship scores, displaying advanced profiles in risk-taking, self-awareness, and opportunity evaluation sub-dimensions.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:In the 21st-century educational paradigm, educational robotics competitions serve not only to impart technical coding skills but also to provide a realistic experiential space regarding the entrepreneurship ecosystem through complex problem-solving and product development processes.
📊
Key Findings & Data:Adopting a cross-sectional survey design within quantitative research methodology, the study’s sample consists of 122 middle school students with experience in national or international robotic competitions, selected via criterion-based purposive sampling.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:The findings indicate that students participating in robotic competitions exhibit high levels of overall entrepreneurship scores, displaying advanced profiles in risk-taking, self-awareness, and opportunity evaluation sub-dimensions.
🔬Design:Survey & Empirical Study
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Eğitsel robotik · girişimcilik · 21. yüzyıl becerileri

Abstract

In the 21st-century educational paradigm, educational robotics competitions serve not only to impart technical coding skills but also to provide a realistic experiential space regarding the entrepreneurship ecosystem through complex problem-solving and product development processes. This study aims to examine the entrepreneurship profiles of middle school students actively participating in robotic competitions and to determine how these profiles differentiate based on various demographic and educational variables. Adopting a cross-sectional survey design within quantitative research methodology, the study’s sample consists of 122 middle school students with experience in national or international robotic competitions, selected via criterion-based purposive sampling. Data were collected using the “Entrepreneurship Scale for Middle School Students”. The findings indicate that students participating in robotic competitions exhibit high levels of overall entrepreneurship scores, displaying advanced profiles in risk-taking, self-awareness, and opportunity evaluation sub-dimensions. While no statistically significant differences were found regarding gender, parental education, or career plans, a notable finding emerged regarding grade level. Fifth-grade students were found to have significantly higher scores in self-awareness and opportunity evaluation sub-dimensions compared to 7th and 8th-grade students. These results suggest that robotic competitions are effective experiential learning environments for fostering an entrepreneurial mindset at early ages; furthermore, they indicate that as students advance to higher grade levels, divergent thinking and self-awareness patterns closely linked to entrepreneurship may come under pressure from developmental and contextual factors, underscoring the need for sustained, process-oriented pedagogical support at these grade levels.

Özet

Yirmi birinci yüzyıl eğitim paradigmasında eğitsel robotik yarışmaları, öğrencilere yalnızca teknik kodlama becerileri kazandırmakla kalmayıp, aynı zamanda karmaşık problem çözme ve ürün geliştirme süreçleri aracılığıyla girişimcilik ekosistemine dair gerçekçi bir deneyim alanı sunmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı robotik yarışmalarına aktif katılım sağlayan ortaokul öğrencilerinin girişimcilik profillerini incelemek ve bu profillerin çeşitli demografik ve eğitimsel değişkenlere göre nasıl farklılaştığını ortaya koymaktır. Nicel araştırma yöntemlerinden tarama deseninin benimsendiği çalışmanın örneklemini, ölçüt örnekleme stratejisiyle belirlenen ve ulusal/uluslararası robotik yarışmalarında deneyim sahibi olan 122 ortaokul öğrencisi oluşturmaktadır. Veriler, “Ortaokul Öğrencilerine Yönelik Girişimcilik Ölçeği” kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Araştırma bulguları, robotik yarışmalarına katılan öğrencilerin genel girişimcilik puanlarının yüksek düzeyde olduğunu; risk alma, öz farkındalık ve fırsatları değerlendirme alt boyutlarında gelişmiş bir profil sergilediklerini göstermektedir. Cinsiyet, ebeveyn eğitim durumu ve kariyer planları açısından istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir farklılık bulunamazken; sınıf düzeyi değişkeninde dikkat çekici bir bulguya rastlanmıştır. Beşinci sınıf öğrencilerinin öz farkındalık ve fırsatları değerlendirme alt boyutlarında 7. ve 8. sınıf öğrencilerine göre anlamlı düzeyde daha yüksek puanlara sahip oldukları tespit edilmiştir. Bu sonuçlar robotik yarışmalarının erken yaşlarda girişimci zihniyeti destekleyen etkili bir deneyimsel öğrenme ortamı olduğunu; sınıf düzeyi yükseldikçe ise girişimcilikle doğrudan ilişkili ıraksak düşünme ve öz-farkındalık örüntülerinin gelişimsel ve bağlamsal faktörlerin etkisiyle baskı altına girebileceğini ve bu boyutların süreç odaklı uygulamalarla desteklenmesi gerektiğini işaret etmektedir.

🔖

Cite This Article

Daş, S. F. A., Büyük, U. (2026). The Role of Educational Robotics Competitions on Middle School Students’ Entrepreneurial Tendencies. Fen Matematik Girişimcilik ve Teknoloji Eğitimi Dergisi, Cilt: 9 Sayı: 2. https://ajindex.com/articles/1483851

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (49)

  1. Balçın, M. D. (2024). Fen, mühendislik ve girişimcilik temelli etkinliklerin ortaokul öğrencilerinin mühendisliğin doğası anlayışları, girişimcilik becerileri, kariyer ve yetenek gelişimi öz-yeterliklerine etkisi [Yayımlanmamış doktora tezi]. Marmara Üniversitesi.
  2. Battelle for Kids. (2019). P21 leadership states: Framework for 21st century learning. https://static.battelleforkids.org/documents/p21/p21_framework_definitionsbfk.pdf
  3. Bozkurt, Ö. (2007). Girişimcilik eğiliminde kişilik özelliklerinin önemi. Girişimcilik ve Kalkınma Dergisi, 1(2), 93–111.
  4. Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  5. Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
  6. Çelik, Y. (2025). Tanınmış girişimcilerin girişimcilik eğitimine ışık tutan çocukluk dönemine ilişkin yaşantıları. Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Journal of Education Faculty, (75), 1–20.
  7. Çepni, S. (2021). Araştırma ve proje çalışmalarına giriş (8. baskı). Celepler Matbaacılık.
  8. Deveci, İ., & Konuş, F. Z. (2022). The predictive power of Turkish middle school students’ entrepreneurial competencies on STEM attitudes. The Journal of Entrepreneurship, 31(2), 425–457. https://doi.org/10.1177/09713557221097178
  9. Deveci, I., & Seikkula-Leino, J. (2023). The link between entrepreneurship and STEM education. In Enhancing entrepreneurial mindsets through STEM education (pp. 3–23). Springer International Publishing.
  10. Eguchi, A. (2014). Educational robotics for promoting 21st century skills. Journal of Automation, Mobile Robotics & Intelligent Systems, 8(1), 5–11. https://doi.org/10.14313/jamris_1-2014/1
  11. Eroğlu, S. (2019). Ortaokul öğrencilerinin girişimcilik düzeylerinin ve sosyal bilgiler dersinde girişimcilik becerisi kazandırılmasına ilişkin öğretmen görüşlerinin belirlenmesi [Yayımlanmamış yüksek lisans tezi]. Anadolu Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü.
  12. European Commission. (2016). EntreComp: The entrepreneurship competence framework (JRC Science for Policy Report No. EUR 27939 EN). Publications Office of the European Union.
  13. Field, A. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
  14. Filiz, O., & Karademir, T. (2023). Robotik uygulamaların üniversite öğrencilerinin girişimcilik ve yaratıcılık becerilerine etkisi. Trakya Eğitim Dergisi, 13(1), 331–346. https://doi.org/10.24315/tred.1033937
  15. Fraenkel, J. R., & Wallen, N. E. (2006). How to design and evaluate research in education (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
  16. Hendricks, C. C., Alemdar, M., & Ogletree, T. W. (2012, June). The impact of participation in VEX Robotics Competition on middle and high school students’ interest in pursuing STEM studies and STEM-related careers [Conference presentation]. ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, TX, United States.
  17. Huber, L. R., Sloof, R., & Van Praag, M. (2014). The effect of early entrepreneurship education: Evidence from a field experiment. European Economic Review, 72, 76–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2014.09.002
  18. Jones, A., & Straub, J. (2019, June). Robotic competition teams: Assessing the experiential education value of participation. 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition.
  19. Kandlhofer, M., & Steinbauer, G. (2016). Evaluating the impact of educational robotics on pupils’ technical and social skills and science related attitudes. Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 75, 679–685. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.robot.2015.09.007
  20. Karaahmetoğlu, K., & Korkmaz, Ö. (2019). The effect of project-based Arduino educational robot applications on students’ computational thinking skills and their perception of Basic STEM skill levels. Participatory Educational Research, 6(2), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.17275/per.19.8.6.2
  21. Keskinkılıç, F. (2024). Bilgi işlemsel düşünme çerçevesinde robotik turnuvalara katılan takım koçu öğretmenlerin görüşleri: FLL Explore örneği. Türkiye Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, 28(3), 882–897.
  22. Kim, G., Kim, D., Lee, W. J., & Joung, S. (2020). The effect of youth entrepreneurship education programs: Two large-scale experimental studies. SAGE Open, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020956976
  23. Koca, S. (2020). Eğitsel robot uygulamalarının öğrencilerin kodlamaya dönük bilişsel çıktılarına etkisinin incelenmesi [Yayımlanmamış yüksek lisans tezi]. Amasya Üniversitesi.
  24. Lent, R. W., & Brown, S. D. (2019). Social cognitive career theory at 25: Empirical status of the interest, choice, and performance models. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 115, 103316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.06.004
  25. MEB. (2024). Ortaokul fen bilimleri dersi öğretim programı (5, 6, 7 ve 8. sınıflar). Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı. https://ttkb.meb.gov.tr
  26. Melchior, A., Cohen, F., Cutter, T., & Leavitt, T. (2005). More than robots: An evaluation of the FIRST Robotics Competition participant and institutional impacts. Center for Youth and Communities, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University.
  27. Meral, M., & Altun Yalçın, S. (2022). The investigation of middle school students’ entrepreneurial skills in terms of entrepreneurship-based STEM education: A mixed-method study. Necatibey Eğitim Fakültesi Elektronik Fen ve Matematik Eğitimi Dergisi, 16(2), 326–353. https://doi.org/10.17522/balikesirnef.1133770
  28. Meral, M., & Altun Yalçın, S. (2025). The effect of educational robotics applications on middle school students’ innovative thinking skills. International Journal of Technology in Education, 8(2), 521–540. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijte.1079
  29. Mueller, S. L., & Thomas, A. S. (2001). Culture and entrepreneurial potential: A nine country study of locus of control and innovativeness. Journal of Business Venturing, 16(1), 51–75.
  30. Nugent, G., Barker, B., Welch, G., Grandgenett, N., Wu, C., & Nelson, C. (2015). A model of factors contributing to STEM learning and career orientation. International Journal of Science Education, 37(7), 1067–1088. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2015.1017863
  31. Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
  32. Ouyang, F., & Xu, W. (2024). The effects of educational robotics in STEM education: A multilevel meta-analysis. International Journal of STEM Education, 11(1), Article 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-024-00469-4
  33. Özkan, C., Kaya, B., & Çepni, S. (2024). BUÜ.’nde 20.yy’dan Bir STEAM Eğitim Deneyimi ve Ülkemizde Bilim Merkezlerinin Kurulmasına Tarihi Yolculuk. Fen Matematik Girişimcilik Ve Teknoloji Eğitimi Dergisi, 7(1), 37-75. https://izlik.org/JA89NY39FY
  34. Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. Basic Books.
  35. Papert, S., & Harel, I. (1991). Situating constructionism. In I. Harel & S. Papert (Eds.), Constructionism (pp. 1–11). Ablex Publishing.
  36. Patton, M. Q. (2014). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
  37. Pişgin, E., & Pişgin, E. A. (2024). Teknoloji tabanlı ulusal yarışmalarda yaşanılan sorunlar ve çözüm önerilerine ilişkin öğretmen görüşleri. Çankırı Karatekin Üniversitesi Karatekin Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, 12(1), 49–88.
  38. Rutherford, M. W., Whitacre, B. E., Captain, L., Ekin, S., Angle, J., Hensley, T., & O’Hara, J. F. (2025). Promoting rural entrepreneurship through technology: A case study using productivity enhancing technology experience kits (PETE-Kits). IEEE Transactions on Education. https://doi.org/10.1109/TE.2024.3504450
  39. Said-Metwaly, S., Fernández-Castilla, B., Kyndt, E., Van den Noortgate, W., & Barbot, B. (2021). Does the fourth-grade slump in creativity actually exist? A meta-analysis of the development of divergent thinking in school-age children and adolescents. Educational Psychology Review, 33(1), 275–298. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09547-9
  40. Sarı, U., Pektaş, H. M., Çelik, H., & Kirindi, T. (2022). Effects of STEM-focused Arduino practical activities on problem-solving and entrepreneurship skills. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 38(3), 140–154. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.7293
  41. Shahin, M., Ilic, O., Gonsalvez, C., & Whittle, J. (2021). The impact of a STEM-based entrepreneurship program on the entrepreneurial intention of secondary school female students. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 17(4), 1867–1898. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-020-00713-7
  42. Shane, S., & Venkataraman, S. (2000). The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 217–226. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2000.2791611
  43. Sullivan, A., & Bers, M. U. (2019). VEX robotics competitions: Gender differences in student attitudes and experiences. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 18, 97–112. https://doi.org/10.28945/4257
  44. Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2014). Using multivariate statistics (6th ed.). Pearson Education.
  45. Verdugo-Castro, S., García-Holgado, A., & Sánchez-Gómez, M. C. (2022). The gender gap in higher STEM studies: A systematic literature review. Heliyon, 8(8), e10172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10172
  46. Wang, M. T., & Degol, J. L. (2017). Gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM): Current knowledge, implications for practice, policy, and future directions. Educational Psychology Review, 29(1), 119–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-015-9355-x
  47. Yazıcı, Y. Y., Hacıoğlu, Y., & Sarı, U. (2023). Entrepreneurship, STEM attitude, and career interest development through 6E learning byDeSIGN™ model based STEM education. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 33(4), 1525-1545.
  48. Yu, W., Zheng, Z., & He, J. (2025). Integrating entrepreneurial education into STEM education: A systematic review. Research in Science Education, 55(1), 159–185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-023-10128-2
  49. Zhang, Y., Luo, R., Zhu, Y., & Yin, Y. (2021). Educational robots improve K-12 students’ computational thinking and STEM attitudes: Systematic review. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 59(7), 1450–1481. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633121994070