Research on education in Southeast Asia (1996–2019): a bibliometric review

Abstract

Although there has been an accelerated growth in the education field in developed countries since the second half of the 20th century, it is not the case among developing regions where progress is slow and uneven. To help the Southeast Asian region move forward, it is imperative to examine the topographical trends within this field of study. Thus, this study sought to gain empirical insights into the current status of educational research in Southeast Asia and how it compares globally and to the United States as the leading country in the field. A total of 13,527 documents from 709 education-related source titles from the Scopus database were examined. Using a bibliometric approach, the findings revealed that despite the region’s progress in educational research, its contribution to global scientific knowledge remains modest compared to other leading countries. A stable growth rate and selective publications in favour of top-tier journals were also observed among the leading countries in the region. Meanwhile, education scholars from emerging countries frequently publish their work in low-tier journals. A substantial link between research productivity, impact, and collaboration was also observed. The paper concludes with practical, theoretical, and methodological implications of the findings.

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