The aim of this study is to reveal the trends in research conducted on active learning in the field of social studies education. The study was carried out using the document analysis method, which is one of the qualitative research methods. The data for the study were collected using the Work Review Form (WRF) prepared by the researcher. The study group of the research consists of 105 graduate theses, determined through a filtering process among the theses available in the YÖK database, after selecting ‘social studies,’ ‘active learning,’ and 75 different active learning-based instructional activities as keywords. The data of the study were analyzed using the content analysis method. As a result of the analysis, it was found that studies on active learning have increased in recent years, except for the pandemic period. The studies showed a balanced distribution in terms of research methods (qualitative, quantitative, mixed). The study group mostly consisted of 4th and 6th-grade students. It was also observed that the same analysis methods were typically used for data analysis, and different methods were rarely preferred. Most of the studies focused on academic achievement, student-teacher opinions, students’ attitudes towards the course, and the retention of learned knowledge. It was also noted that graduate studies were limited to a narrow scope, with the active learning methods used in the theses restricted to thirteen methods. According to the results of the research, active learning has a significant number of advantages and positive effects when used in the teaching process, with very few limitations. The results of the relevant studies indicated that active learning increased students’ interest in the course, made the course more enjoyable, improved academic achievement, and helped make learning more permanent. The researchers recommended that different active learning methods be applied at different educational levels using different research methods. In line with these results, it is recommended to increase the number of studies on active learning in the field of social studies, to study different active learning methods, and to focus on different skills, values, and outcomes instead of focusing on similar issues.
