Bibliometric mapping of John Dewey's educational legacy: Global patterns in scholarly discourse, 1942–2025

This bibliometric mapping provides scholars with empirical insights into the intellectual structure, thematic evolution, and international scope of research on John Dewey – one of education's most influential philosophers. Through systematic analysis of 1,969 academic publications (1942–2025) from Web of Science, we employ co-occurrence analysis, citation networks, and temporal mapping to examine the global evolution of research on Dewey's educational philosophy. Results reveal five distinct intellectual clusters: philosophical pragmatism, democratic education theory, experiential pedagogy, aesthetic experience, and critical educational theory. Temporal analysis demonstrates dramatic research acceleration since 2005, with scholarly focus evolving from early philosophical interpretation toward contemporary applications in science education, technology integration, and physical education. While North American institutions lead in publication volume, emerging research networks across Europe, Asia, and South America demonstrate the global reach of Dewey scholarship. Citation analysis identifies influential works and authors that have shaped contemporary understanding of Dewey's educational legacy. • Bibliometric analysis of 1,969 articles reveals global expansion of Dewey's study. • Main focuses: pragmatism, democratic education, experiential learning, aesthetics. • Citation networks show evolution from philosophy to contemporary practice. • Dewey's “Experience and Education” & “Democracy and Education” are central anchors.