A Bibliometric Analysis of Critical Thinking in STEM Education
Abstract
a bibliometric approach related to 142 articles indexed in Scopus for 2014-2026. The analysis
was conducted using VOS viewer and Bibliometrix to identify publication trends, major
contributors, collaboration patterns, and the evolution of themes. Based on the results, the
publications increase significantly since the year 2020 and peak in 2025, which indicate more
attention to critical thinking in STEM education. Spread out research contributors where no
author seems to dominate the research. However, the US and China were the countries with
the highest citations. While some countries showed high impact based on average citations.
The distribution of co-authorship patterns is scattered and still restricted to smaller groups
which calls for increased global co-authorship. The most valuable articles pertained to
technology, learning, innovation and interdisciplinary approaches as citation analysis
suggests. Furthermore, the analysis of keywords indicates that critical thinking and STEM
education are core themes which are evolving towards active learning, problem solving, and
integration of AI like ChatGPT. A growing body of research provides evidence to confirm that
this field continues to grow rapidly and plays a strategic role in the development of 21st
century skills.
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