79 https://www.escienceediting.org Copyright © 2021 Korean Council of Science Editors
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pISSN 2288-8063
eISSN 2288-7474
Received: July 23, 2020
Accepted: October 25, 2020
Correspondence to Xiaoxiao Lin
104438@gzhu.edu.cn
ORCID
Jia-Fen Wu
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1097-221X
Xiaoxiao Lin
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3624-3544
Original Article
Sci Ed 2021;8(1):79-84
https://doi.org/10.6087/kcse.233
Bibliometric analysis of publications on
inclusive education from the Web of
Science Core Collection published from
1992 to 2020
Jia-Fen Wu
1
, Xiaoxiao Lin
2
1
Department of Early Childhood Education, School of Education, JingGangShan University, Ji’an;
2
Department of Special
Education, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
Abstract
Purpose: This study analyzed the bibliometric characteristics of publications on inclusive
education in the Social Science Citation Index and Science Citation Index Expanded in the
Web of Science Core Collection from 1992 to 2020.
Methods: Terms related to “inclusive education” and “inclusion of education” were used
as keywords to search for journal articles on July 3, 2020.
Results: There were 1,786 articles, representing 3,376 authors, in the 345 journals scanned. The
United States, United Kingdom, and Australia were the three leading countries/regions in this
field. In the top 12 countries, the top 15 institutions and the top 10 most-cited journals were iden-
tified by either the number of publications or the number of total citations. Core themes from the
30 most highly-cited articles were teachers’ attitudes, teachers’ self-efficacy, and the effects of in-
clusive education. Teachers included both pre-service and in-service teachers; students represent-
ed those with and without special educational needs.
Conclusion: The results indicate that the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia domi-
nated inclusive education research, originating most of the highly-cited articles, having more pro-
lific authors, and presenting the most-cited institutions. Furthermore, three emerging core
themes from the 30 most highly-cited articles were teachers’ attitudes, teachers’ self-efficacy, and
the effects of inclusive education. Frontline teachers are recommended to submit manuscripts
about their teaching experiences to the most-cited journals, which have a large readership. To
measure the effects of inclusive education, it is essential to formulate reliable, valid, and culture-
free research instruments for future studies.
Keywords
Bibliometric analysis; Histcite Pro 2.0; Historiograph; Inclusive education; Total Local Citation