The Intellectual Structure and Emerging Research Frontiers of Mathematical Reasoning in Cognitive Processes: A Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Literature Review
Aug 2026· Indonesian Journal of Teaching and Learning (INTEL)· 0 citations
Abstract
Purpose – Mathematical reasoning has become a central focus of mathematics education research; however, existing evidence remains fragmented across cognitive, pedagogical, affective, and representational perspectives. Previous reviews have rarely integrated bibliometric mapping with systematic evidence synthesis to explain the intellectual development of this field. This study aims to examine the intellectual structure, thematic evolution, and emerging research frontiers of mathematical reasoning in cognitive processes.
Methodology – This study employed a mixed-review design integrating bibliometric analysis and a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). Bibliographic data were retrieved from the Scopus database and selected using the PRISMA 2020 framework, resulting in 334 eligible journal articles. Bibliometric mapping was conducted using VOSviewer to analyse publication trends, country productivity, author collaboration, keyword co-occurrence, and density visualization, while qualitative synthesis was used to interpret thematic development and identify research gaps.
Findings – The results reveal three major findings. First, scientific production has increased markedly since 2018, reflecting growing international interest in mathematical reasoning within cognitive processes. Second, mathematical reasoning functions as the intellectual hub linking cognitive, pedagogical, linguistic, semiotic, and affective perspectives. Third, affective constructs, particularly motivation and self-efficacy, remain underrepresented, highlighting important opportunities for future interdisciplinary research.
Novelty – This study provides the first integrated synthesis combining bibliometric analysis and PRISMA-guided SLR to map the intellectual structure, thematic evolution, and research frontiers of mathematical reasoning in cognitive processes.
Significance – The findings offer an evidence-based foundation for researchers, curriculum developers, and mathematics educators to develop more comprehensive theoretical models and interdisciplinary research agendas that integrate cognitive, affective, and instructional dimensions of mathematical reasoning.
Purpose – Mathematical representation is a core component of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME), enabling learners to construct mathematical meaning through multiple representations. Despite the growing body of research, existing reviews largely emphasize instructional effectiveness or bibliometric trends without explaining the field's intellectual evolution. This study mapped the evolution of mathematical representation research within RME by examining its research landscape, knowledge diffusion, intellectual structure, thematic development, and future directions.
Methodology – An integrated Systematic Literature Review and bibliometric analysis was conducted following the PRISMA protocol. Thirty-eight English-language journal articles indexed in Scopus were analysed using VOSviewer through publication trend analysis, collaboration networks, keyword co-occurrence, overlay and density visualisations, and bibliographic coupling.
Findings – Research has progressed through four developmental phases: Foundation, Expansion, Diversification, and Integration. The findings reveal global knowledge diffusion from the Netherlands as the theoretical origin to Indonesia as the principal site of contextual adaptation, with Malaysia serving as a key regional collaborator. Four interconnected intellectual domains emerged: instructional design, mathematical representation, assessment, and educational technology. Emerging research frontiers include longitudinal representational development, adaptive assessment, artificial intelligence, teacher professional learning, and cross-cultural implementation.
Novelty – This study proposes a theory-oriented bibliometric synthesis that integrates research trends, knowledge diffusion, intellectual structures, thematic evolution, and research frontiers into a unified conceptual framework.
Significance – The findings provide an evidence-based foundation for theory development, research prioritisation, and instructional innovation, advancing mathematical representation as a central construct in contemporary mathematics education.
P. Juliyanti, Arif Abdul Haqq, Muhammad Azam· International Journal of Con...· 0 citations
This study examines research trends and emerging themes in Education 5.0 through a bibliometric and thematic document analysis. The data were collected from the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database using a structured search strategy within the SSCI and ESCI indexes. The search was limited to English-language articles published between 2016 and March 2026. Following the screening process, 57 articles directly related to the educational context were included in the analysis. Bibliometric analyses were conducted using VOSviewer to examine keyword clusters, country collaboration, temporal publication trends, research areas, and cited publications. In addition, the abstracts of the selected studies were analyzed to identify the most frequently occurring abstract terms and the emerging themes reflected in the abstracts. The findings suggest that Education 5.0 is a relatively new and emerging field that has shown a visible increase in publication activity after 2023. The literature reflects a multidisciplinary structure situated at the intersection of education, computer science, engineering, and sustainability-related perspectives, while international collaboration remains limited and fragmented. The thematic analysis revealed six major themes: transformation of education, technology integration, competency and skills development, implementation challenges, sustainability, and institutional transformation. Overall, the study provides a systematic overview of the intellectual structure and thematic directions of Education 5.0 research and offers implications for future research in the field.
Sevim Aşiroğlu· European Journal of Educatio...· 0 citations
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.
F. S. Hilyana, D. Yulianti, A. Rusilowati et al.· Jurnal Pendidikan Progresif· 0 citations
This study presents a systematic and scientific mapping of multimodal communication research conducted in higher education, examining the field’s thematic trends, intellectual structure, and future directions through combined bibliometric and content-based analysis, drawing on 63 peer-reviewed journal articles retrieved from Web of Science and Scopus published between 2016 and 2026. The selection process followed preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines, with studies screened against two eligibility criteria: situatedness in higher education and multimodal communication as a primary analytical focus. Frequency analysis was applied to annual publication trends, research methods, author keywords, journal distribution, and abstract vocabulary, while thematic classification organized the corpus into six clusters. Findings indicate a marked acceleration in publication output from 2022 onwards, with the period 2022-2025 accounting for 66.7% of all studies. Quantitative approaches constitute the largest methodological category (30.2%), followed by conceptual and theoretical works (28.6%) and qualitative studies (22.2%). Six thematic clusters were identified: language teaching and multimodal resources (38.1%), multimodal literacy and competence (20.6%), technology-enhanced multimodal learning (14.3%), classroom interaction and multimodal communication (14.3%), institutional and organizational communication (6.3%), and theoretical and methodological frameworks (6.3%). Abstract word analysis reveals a lexical shift from literacy- and theory-oriented vocabulary in the early period towards digital, interaction, and technology-centered terminology after 2021. Co-authorship analysis identifies a moderately collaborative field with an average of 2.78 authors per study. The future direction analysis revealed 34 research priorities under six thematic clusters, with theoretical/methodological development, multimodal assessment in higher education, and technology-enhanced learning being highlighted as the most prominent areas for future research. The findings collectively suggest that the field is transitioning from theoretical consolidation towards applied, empirically driven, and technology-informed inquiry, with institutional communication and artificial intelligence-mediated multimodal learning emerging as underexplored directions for future research.
A. Serdakova, Nataliya N. Drobysheva, O. Shiryaeva-Shiring et al.· Contemporary Educational Tec...· 0 citations
The integration of CT serves as a vital bridge to transform mathematics pedagogy into a more explorative and meaningful experience, highlighting the urgent need for continuous teacher professional development and standardized CT assessment tools.
Adi Janes Ngingi, Ariyadi Wijaya, Fitriana Yuli Saptaningtyas· MATHEMA: JURNAL PENDIDIKAN M...· 0 citations
Mathematical skills acquired during early childhood are widely recognized as strong predictors of later academic achievement. However, studies systematically mapping the global knowledge structure of research on preschool mathematical development remain limited. This study examined 143 academic publications from the Web of Science (WoS) database between 2006 and 2025 using bibliometric analysis, aiming to provide a comprehensive, integrated structural map of the field. Publication trends, author, country, and institution distributions, citation patterns, and keyword co-occurrence clusters were analyzed using VOSviewer 1.6.20. Findings revealed a significant increase in publications after 2015, with the United States, Germany, and Belgium as leading countries, and KU Leuven as the most productive institution. A longitudinal study on executive functions received the highest number of citations. Keyword analysis demonstrated that executive functions and cognitive processes constitute the dominant research focus; however, notable gaps exist in digital technology integration, cross-cultural perspectives, and play-based learning approaches.