Mapping research on inclusive education since Salamanca Statement: a bibliometric review of the literature over 25 years


Hernández-Torrano D. Somerton M. Helmer J.
2022Routledge

International Journal of Inclusive Education
2022#26Issue 9893 - 912 pp.

The purpose of this study is to map the research literature on inclusive education (IE) since the Salamanca Statement using metadata extracted from 7,084 Scopus-indexed publications over the last 25 years in terms of the growth trajectory, productivity, collaborative networks, and intellectual structure of the field. Main findings of the study are: (1) the academic interest on IE has risen from the Salamanca Statement to date; (2) IE research is a global phenomenon and is produced in most countries around the world, although the bulk of research is still published by a small number of authors and countries; (3) there is a noteworthy level of scientific collaboration in the field, with numerous consolidated research groups and robust research collaborations between countries; (4) four schools of thought define the intellectual structure of IE research: system and structures, special education, accessibility and participation, and critical research; (5) four general themes have been addressed in the literature over the last 25 years: IE in higher education settings, pre-service teacher education and their attitudes towards IE, teaching for inclusion and in-service professional development on IE, and practices and principles of IE. Findings are discussed and implications for the development of the field are presented.

bibliometric review , inclusion , Inclusive education , Salamanca Statement , science mapping , special education needs , VOSViewer

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Graduate School of Education, Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan

Graduate School of Education

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