Bibliometric Analysis of Research on Climate Change in Education

Abstract

The aim of this study is to conduct a bibliometric analysis of scientific research published on climate change and indexed in the education category of the Web of Science (WoS) database. The study was conducted using a descriptive search model. During the study, searches were performed in Web of Science databases using the keyword "climate change". Data collection was carried out based on the author keywords field in the Web of Science database. 1038 scientific studies from 2005-2025 were included in the research. Data analysis was performed using VOSviewer software. The analysis results show that the first publication included in the indexes and categories related to climate change dates back to 2005. While a partial increase in the number of publications was observed between 2005 and 2018, a significant upward trend in the number of publications was observed from 2019 onwards. Following a small decrease between 2019-2020, a general increase in the number of publications is noticeable from 2020 onwards. Articles are the most common type of publication (86%) in the indexes and categories related to climate change, followed by conference papers (9.92%) and book chapters (4.08%). Furthermore, the most prolific authors on climate change were found to be “Tolppanen, S.” (n=10), “Mckenzie, M.” (n=8), and “Busch, K. C.” (n=8). The findings indicate that these authors also stand out among the most cited authors. Similarly, it was determined that the journals ranking in the top 10 in terms of publication volume on climate change also rank highly in terms of citation volume. In this context, “Environmental Education Research” and “International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education” are among the prominent journals. The study findings reveal a difference and inconsistency between institutions in terms of publication volume and citation rates. Furthermore, the study shows an imbalance in scientific output regarding climate change between developed and developing countries, with developed countries contributing significantly more to this issue than developing countries. The study identified the most frequently used keywords related to climate change as “global warming,” “sustainability,” “education,” “climate change,” “higher education,” and “sustainable development.” In conclusion, this study provides a general framework for research on climate change in education, covering various dimensions such as publication years, publication types, journals and authors publishing, journals and authors receiving citations, and countries with the most publications. From this perspective, it is believed that the study will provide a guiding framework for researchers working in this field by presenting a general overview of research on climate change in education.