STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION: MAPPING ACADEMIC CONTRIBUTIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Abstract Strategic leadership is crucial for educational leaders, and studies in other fields have been implemented. However, research on strategic leadership in education remains limited. This study presents a bibliometric analysis of publications on educational strategic leadership from the Scopus database between 1982 and 2022. 992 papers were retrieved by utilising the keywords associated with strategic leadership in education found in the article title, abstract, and keywords of the study for further evaluation using various techniques. We employed Microsoft Excel for frequency analysis, VOS Viewer for data visualisation, and Harzing's Publish or Perish for citation metrics and analysis. This study presents findings utilising standard bibliometric indicators, including research productivity, titles of active sources, publication distribution by nation, the most prolific institutions, the most active authors, and citation analysis. There was a substantial increase in academic publications on strategic leadership in education. A group of 160 writers from 87 distinct countries and 160 institutions have conducted numerous research projects concerning strategic leadership in education. Various academic journals have disseminated these works. The results of this investigation and its consequences can assist scholars in comprehending the intricacies of strategic leadership in education and offer them important knowledge about contemporary studies and future developments in this domain.