Metaverse and education: identifying key themes and future research trajectories

Purpose The present study aims to undertake an extensive review of scholarly literature by exploring the intersection of the metaverse and education. Design/methodology/approach The researchers used the relevant documents from the Scopus database to conduct bibliometric analysis. The data were retrieved from 2010 to February 2024. Citation, co-citation and author’s keyword analysis were conducted for bibliometric analysis. The study was performed using VOSviewer and the Biblioshiny app software packages. Findings The extant literature related to the metaverse and education is presented in the paper. The paper identified four key themes in the literature, i.e. Metaverse and education, Contemporary application of metaverse: a multisectoral perspective, Metaverse: spatial dimensions and concerns and Metaverse: shaping the future of digital interaction. Other information related to the most influential authors, journals and countries concerning metaverse and education is also presented. Originality/value The paper studies the gradual evolution of the present research domain over time. The study outlines key areas that have emerged from the literature review, suggesting directions for future research.