An Analysis of Scientific Publication Trends in Educational Policy Research

This study aims to provide a comprehensive examination of the scientific literature on educational policy through bibliometric methods, focusing on publication trends, thematic orientations, collaboration networks, and geographical contributions. Bibliometric analysis is employed as a powerful tool for uncovering the structural patterns of the literature, its interdisciplinary linkages, and intellectual clustering. A total of 4,953 articles were retrieved from the Web of Science database using the keyword “education policy” in the title field and limited to the Education Educational Research category, and the dataset was analysed with VOSviewer software to assess annual publication growth, the most cited authors and journals, keyword clusters, and collaboration networks across institutions and researchers. The findings reveal a striking increase in publication output after 2015; while countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia have retained central positions, China, India, and Brazil have emerged as rising contributors. Highly cited studies were found to focus mainly on themes such as social justice, higher education policy, digital governance, educational inequalities, and data-driven decision-making, and keyword clustering highlights the multilayered nature of the field, demonstrating the interplay between policy research and the disciplines of pedagogy, sociology, and economics. In this regard, the study shows that the literature on educational policy has been evolving into an increasingly global, multi-centred, and network-based domain, offering researchers a comprehensive map to guide theoretical orientations, methodological approaches, and international collaborations.