Research development in physical education and sports science in the Philippines from 2001 to 2025: a Scopus-based bibliometric analysis of an emerging educational field

Physical Education and Sports Science (PE&SS) scholarship in the Philippines has gained visibility amid growing institutional expectations for research productivity, yet its internationally indexed structure remains underexamined. This study conducted a Scopus-based bibliometric analysis of PE&SS research associated with the Philippines from 2001 to 2025. A total of 214 journal articles were analyzed using Scopus analytical outputs for descriptive bibliometric indicators and VOSviewer for author co-authorship and keyword co-occurrence mapping. The analysis examined publication growth, subject-area distribution, institutional and author productivity, collaboration patterns, and conceptual structures. Findings show gradual but uneven field development, with publication growth accelerating after 2020. The corpus is multidisciplinary, anchored primarily in social sciences, medicine, and health professions, with emerging intersections in psychology and technology. Productivity remains concentrated among selected institutions and authors, while co-authorship patterns indicate clustered but expanding collaboration. Keyword structures reveal a field centered on physical education, physical activity, fitness, students, and health-related concerns. The study maps the Scopus-indexed development of Philippine PE&SS scholarship as an emerging but still consolidating educational field.