The Development of Learning Media in Geography Education: A Bibliometric Analysis of Global Research Trends 2015–2025

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to map global research trends, intellectual structures, and thematic developments in learning media development within geography education and closely related geospatial, geoscience, and environmental education contexts from 2015 to 2025. Design/methods/approach – A bibliometric approach was employed using data retrieved from the Scopus database. Following a PRISMA-based screening process, 705 eligible articles were selected from 2,752 initial records. Data were analyzed using VOSviewer 1.6.20 and Microsoft Excel through publication trend analysis, bibliographic coupling, and keyword co-occurrence mapping. Findings – The results indicate a substantial increase in publications after 2020, reflecting the accelerated digital transformation of education. Indonesia emerged as the leading contributor under the full-counting approach. Bibliographic coupling analysis revealed a transition from digital and contextual learning media toward AR/VR-based environments and AI-supported educational innovations. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identified dominant themes such as mobile learning, augmented reality, virtual reality, and sustainability, while artificial intelligence, digital literacy, and critical thinking emerged as weak-signal research themes identified through complementary descriptive keyword analysis. Research implications/limitations – The study is limited to English-language open-access journal articles indexed in the Scopus database and therefore may not fully represent the broader literature. Originality/value – This study provides a comprehensive bibliometric mapping of learning media development across geography education and related geospatial, geoscience, and environmental education domains, revealing its intellectual evolution, thematic structure, and emerging research frontiers.