MAPPING THE EARLY IDENTIFICATION LITERATURE ON GIFTEDNESS: A BIBLIOMETRIC STUDY

Abstract

This study aims to examine the intellectual structure, conceptual orientations, and temporal development of the international literature on the early identification of gifted children through a bibliometric approach. The dataset comprises 77 articles published between 1969 and January 2025 in the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection; all focus on early identification. Data were collected through a systematic search of the WoS database, and bibliometric techniques were employed to analyze publication trends, country and institutional productivity, citation patterns, author collaborations, and thematic structures based on keyword co-occurrence. The findings reveal a notable increase in scientific output on early identification, particularly after 2007, with an average annual growth rate of 2.92%. Country-level analysis indicates that the United States leads in scientific impact, while institutions such as the University of Ioannina and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki lead in productivity. Thematic analysis shows that the literature continues to becentered around “intelligence” and “achievement,” although there has been a growing emphasis on regulatory cognitive processes such as “executive functions” and “effortful control” in recent years. Overall, the results suggest that despite a strong theoretical shift toward multidimensional and inclusive models, research practices remain largely grounded in traditional IQ-based frameworks, indicating that a comprehensive conceptual transformation has yet to be fully realized.