Mapping the Research Landscape of Teacher Mindset: A Bibliometric Analysis (1984–2024)

Research on teacher mindset has expanded considerably over the past decades, reflecting growing interest in its theoretical and pedagogical implications. Nevertheless, limited attention has been given to systematically mapping the field’s intellectual structure and thematic evolution through an integrative bibliometric approach. This study was conducted to reveal the intellectual structure, scientific evolution and thematic transformation of the teacher mindset literature. A total of 335 eligible publications between 1984 and 2024 obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection database were evaluated through quantitative and visual bibliometric analysis techniques employing Biblioshiny and VOSviewer software. The analysis reveals that the field has gained significant momentum in the post-2007 period, scientific productivity has been steadily increasing annually, and literature is largely shaped around the concepts of growth mindset and implicit theories. The deviations observed in the productivity analysis based on Lotka's Law reveal that teacher mindset research has not yet reached academic maturity, in other words, there is potential for expansion in this field. In addition, thematic mapping highlights a gradual shift from purely theoretical discussions toward more practice-oriented foci. In particular, themes such as pedagogical practices, instructional decision-making, teacher beliefs, and motivation have become increasingly central in recent years, indicating a stronger integration of mindset research into classroom practice and teacher professional development. Overall, the findings reveal that the teacher mindset literature has evolved into a more holistic and dynamic structure with practice-based research while maintaining its theoretical framework.