Research Trends and Empirical Evidence on STEM Learning for Creative Thinking: A Systematic Literature Network Analysis

Abstract

The increasing emphasis on twenty-first-century competencies has positioned STEM learning as an important educational approach for fostering students' creative thinking. Although numerous studies have investigated the relationship between STEM learning and creative thinking, a comprehensive understanding of research trends, thematic developments, and empirical evidence remains limited. This study aims to analyze the development of research on STEM learning and creative thinking using a Systematic Literature Network Analysis (SLNA) that integrates bibliometric and qualitative content analyses. Bibliographic data were retrieved exclusively from the Scopus database using the search query TITLE-ABS-KEY (STEM AND Learning AND Creative AND Thinking). The initial search identified 287 publications; 248 met the criteria for bibliometric analysis, and 33 highly relevant full-text articles were selected for qualitative synthesis following the PRISMA 2020 framework. Bibliometric analysis was conducted using Biblioshiny and VOSviewer to examine publication trends, collaboration networks, and thematic structures, while qualitative content analysis synthesized research characteristics, instructional approaches, methodologies, and findings on creative thinking. The findings reveal a continuous increase in publications between 2021 and 2025, indicating growing scholarly interest in STEM learning and creative thinking. Thematic analysis identifies creative thinking, project-based learning, STEM education, and assessment as dominant research themes, while digital learning and computational thinking emerge as developing topics. The qualitative synthesis demonstrates that STEM learning consistently enhances creative thinking through project-based learning, inquiry-based learning, engineering design, robotics, and digital learning environments, particularly by promoting fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. This study contributes to the literature by integrating bibliometric mapping with qualitative synthesis, providing a comprehensive overview of the current research landscape and offering directions for future research and educational practice in STEM learning and creative thinking. Keywords: STEM learning, creative thinking, bibliometric analysis, systematic literature review, qualitative synthesis.