Aug 2026· African Journal of Teacher Education and Development· Vol 5· 0 citations· 8 references
Abstract
Background: Mathematics is a core discipline of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. It is imperative to review the role of mathematics in that progress.
Aim: Using a bibliometric review, the study examined global research trends in mathematics of STEM education from 2010 to 2024.
Setting: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is key to national development. Understanding its nature is important. The study draws on international academic publications indexed primarily in the Scopus database, encompassing journal articles, books, book chapters, and conference proceedings.
Methods: A bibliometric review approach was employed, using targeted keywords – STEM, research, teaching or learning, students or learners, and mathematics – to identify relevant literature. The Scopus database, retrieved on 21 January 2025, was utilised to identify 669 documents. VOSviewer software was used to generate visual maps of research trends and international collaboration networks.
Results: The analysis reveals that the United States and Indonesia dominate research on mathematics-focused STEM education. The United Kingdom serves as a central node for collaboration, while major economies such as China, India, and Japan are present, their participation is small.
Conclusion: The study shows Africa’s absence as a singularly visible contributor, which corresponds to Mode 1 knowledge production. By contrast, countries such as the United States and Indonesia demonstrate Mode 2 characteristics: large volumes of research, extensive networks of joint authorship, and participation in cross-border collaborations.
Contribution: This study highlights the need for greater African engagement in STEM education research, particularly in mathematics, to ensure equitable development relative to other countries and greater representation in global educational innovation.
Research on mathematics learning interest in primary education has grown rapidly over the past two decades, yet no bibliometric study has systematically mapped its intellectual structure and thematic evolution. This study aimed to map the research landscape of mathematics learning interest in primary education by identifying publication trends, research productivity, and dominant research themes. A bibliometric analysis was conducted on 92 articles indexed in Scopus from 1982 to 2025 using Bibliometrix and VOSviewer. Findings reveal an annual growth rate of 6.66% with a significant surge after 2018, with China, the United States, and Turkey dominating research output. Nine thematic clusters were identified, with dominant themes including mathematics achievement and anxiety, motivation and learning interest, and self-concept and self-efficacy. The fragmented co-authorship network indicates limited international collaboration in this field. These findings provide a comprehensive intellectual map for researchers and education practitioners to identify research gaps and build a more structured collaborative agenda for future inquiry.
Research on mathematics learning interest in primary education has grown rapidly over the past two decades, yet no bibliometric study has systematically mapped its intellectual structure and thematic evolution. This study aimed to map the research landscape of mathematics learning interest in primary education by identifying publication trends, research productivity, and dominant research themes. A bibliometric analysis was conducted on 92 articles indexed in Scopus from 1982 to 2025 using Bibliometrix and VOSviewer. Findings reveal an annual growth rate of 6.66% with a significant surge after 2018, with China, the United States, and Turkey dominating research output. Nine thematic clusters were identified, with dominant themes including mathematics achievement and anxiety, motivation and learning interest, and self-concept and self-efficacy. The fragmented co-authorship network indicates limited international collaboration in this field. These findings provide a comprehensive intellectual map for researchers and education practitioners to identify research gaps and build a more structured collaborative agenda for future inquiry.
Aprina S. P. Hutagalung, Lutfi Nur, G. Hamdu· Jurnal Pembelajaran Bimbinga...· 0 citations
One of the fastest growing areas within international education research is science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. This review uses a bibliometric mapping approach on 7,569 indexed documents (comprising research articles, conference papers, review articles, and other document types) available in Scopus between 2006-April 2026. Keyword co-occurrence network mapping (VOSviewer) and descriptive bibliometric analysis (bibliometrix) were used to characterize the field’s intellectual structure, thematic clusters, key researchers, journals, and national contributions. Coverage was cross-validated against Web of Science. Analysis demonstrates exponential publication growth – regression-based compound annual growth rate (CAGR) (2006-2025) of approximately 11.4% and endpoint-to-endpoint CAGR (2006-2025) of approximately 17.2%, significantly higher than estimated 3-5% normal growth rate in publications – and citation impact. USA, China, and Turkey have emerged as the dominant publishers, while the International Journal of STEM Education rapidly gained central role in the field, after its launching in 2014. The six thematic clusters that emerge from keyword co-occurrence analysis include, the concept of an integrated curriculum/pedagogy, themes focused on equity and access, teacher preparation and professional development, specific disciplinary foci within STEM, focus on technology in the classroom and a core conceptual cluster. The research traces four temporal phases (2006-2009, 2010-2014, 2015-2018, and 2019-2026) of STEM education, highlighting shifts from tightly focused discipline-centered discussions to holistic approaches that focus on integrated and design-based pedagogies and equity in the classroom and a rise in topics centered on generative AI and computational thinking starting in 2023. The results inform curriculum designers, policymakers, researchers and teacher educators. Limitations of the research agenda include limited coverage from the Global South and fragmented disciplinary research synthesis which warrant a research agenda that can support a broader geographically and intellectually integrated discussion of STEM education.
Saodat J. Shinnazarova, Alima Pirniyazova, G. P. Kallibekova et al.· Eurasia Journal of Mathemati...· 0 citations
Self-efficacy has been one of the most widely used psychological constructs in mathematics education research for over three decades. However, the development of research, the intellectual structure of the field, and its relationship to learning approaches and mathematical competence have not been comprehensively developed. This study aims to analyze publication trends, thematic structures, and identify research gaps regarding self-efficacy in mathematics education. The study uses a bibliometric approach to 3,096 Scopus Open Access documents from 2013–2025 that have been screened to ensure their relevance to the field of education. The analysis was conducted using Bibliometrix (R) to broadcast publication performance and VOSviewer to map the co-word network. The results show sharp and consistent growth (Annual Growth Rate 20.47%), with Frontiers in Psychology as the most published platform (197 documents) while EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education remains the most relevant core journal for the mathematics education audience specifically. The co-word mapping identified four thematic clusters—self-efficacy, mathematics teaching and achievement; health and behavior; clinical education and medical competence; as well as procedures and pilot studies. However, the most pedagogically significant finding is the lack of explicit integration between self-efficacy, team-based learning, and mathematical communication in the context of statistics education: combined phrases such as ‘collaborative learning in statistics’ and ‘communication skills in mathematics’ were completely absent (n = 0) among all the documents analyzed, while the individual terms rarely appeared alongside self-efficacy. This finding confirms that research interventions that integrate collaborative learning with self-efficacy strengthening in statistics courses—particularly in higher education contexts that are still underrepresented in the global literature such as Southeast Asia—represent a pressing research agenda and have the potential to make significant pedagogical contributions to the teaching of mathematics and statistics in higher education.
Nike Astiswijaya, T. Turmudi, Kusnandi Kusnandi et al.· ISEJ : Indonesian Science Ed...· 0 citations
This study presents one of the first scientometric reviews of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) in science education. The review highlights how teachers’ digital pedagogical knowledge has been conceptualised and evolved to support learner-content, learner-teacher, and learner-technology interaction in science education. The analysis drew on 564 bibliographic records from the Web of Science from 2014 to 2024. Quantitative methods were applied to capture publication growth, citation impact, contributions from countries, institutions, journals and authors, and thematic development. Data analysis included network analysis, polynomial regression, least squares trend analysis, and Chi-square tests. Bradford’s and Lotka’s laws were applied to assess journal and author productivity. Science mapping tools supported visualization, including VOSviewer, Biblioshiny, and the Bibliometrix R package. Advanced statistical analyses were performed using the statistical package for the social sciences. The results show accelerated growth in TPACK publications after 2018, with output peaking between 2020 and 2022 as pandemic-driven demands increased the use of educational technologies. China, the United States, and Turkey emerged as the leading contributors, while Nanyang Technological University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong dominated institutional output. Chai Ching Sing was found to be the most prolific author. Author productivity revealed that TPACK scholarship in science education is dominated by one-time contributors supported by a small core of active scholars. Thematic evolution reveals a shift from knowledge integration toward teacher education and professional development, with recent expansion into mathematics and science education.
Brian Shambare· Contemporary Educational Tec...· 0 citations
The results indicate that digital learning in science education has evolved into an increasingly mature, collaborative, and technology-oriented research field, emphasizing the use of digital technologies to enhance the quality of instruction and students' learning experiences.
Ester Elinawati Waruwu, M. Nurjayadi, S. Muhab et al.· Jurnal Pendidikan Sains Indo...· 0 citations
Research on Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) in elementary mathematics education has expanded substantially over the past decade, yet no bibliometric study has systematically mapped its intellectual structure, growth pattern, or geographic distribution. This study addresses that gap through a bibliometric performance analysis of 55 Scopus-indexed documents published between 2009 and 2026, guided by three research questions on publication trends, geographic contributions, and source characteristics. Data were retrieved from the Scopus database on May 2, 2026, and analyzed using the Scopus Analyze Search Results feature and Microsoft Excel. Results reveal that annual output grew from one document in 2009 to a peak of 11 in 2020 (20.0% of total), declined to two in 2022 amid COVID-19 disruptions, and resurged to 10 in 2025, the second highest on record. Geographically, Indonesia accounts for 85.5% of publications (n = 47), followed by Malaysia (5.5%; n = 3), while contributions from Western countries and other regions remain negligible. Publication sources are dominated by conference proceedings: the Journal of Physics: Conference Series (36.4%) and AIP Conference Proceedings (20.0%) together account for 56.4% of all documents. These findings highlight the need for broader international collaboration, stronger journal-based dissemination, and expanded use of advanced bibliometric tools.