Bibliometric and Science Mapping Analysis of Research on Social Studies Education for Students with Special Needs (2000-2024)

Abstract

Introduction: Social studies education for students with special needs has become an increasingly important field of research as inclusive education advances. However, the temporal development of scientific production, prominent actors, and collaboration structures in this field have not been investigated comprehensively. This study aims to reveal the structural and trend-related characteristics of the field by analyzing the bibliometric properties of research published in this domain.Method: This study was a review based on bibliometric analysis. Publications indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection and published between 2000 and 2024 were included in the analysis. The literature search was conducted on March 19, 2025. Bibliometric analyses were carried out using the Bibliometrix package and VOSviewer software. Publication and citation trends, as well as country, institution, and author productivity and collaboration networks, were examined.Findings: The findings indicate a significant increase in publications over the past decade and reveal that scientific output is concentrated within a relatively small set of countries, institutions, and authors. Collaboration networks among authors and countries display a structure organized around central cores.Discussion: The results suggest that knowledge production in the field has not yet reached a fully integrated structure. Increasing international and interdisciplinary collaboration, encouraging research conducted across diverse educational contexts, and diversifying studies focused on inclusive social studies education are identified as key strategies to enhance the field’s scientific visibility and impact.