Social Justice and Inclusion in Education for Sustainable Development: Bibliometric and Thematic Mapping in 2015-2026
Keywords:
education for sustainable development, social justice, inclusion, bibliometrics, thematic mapping, educational equityAbstract
Background: Education for sustainable development (ESD) intersects with equity, inclusion and justice, but the frequency of related vocabulary does not itself establish substantive educational change. Objective: This study maps the bibliographic and abstract-level conceptual landscape of social justice and inclusion in ESD research indexed in Scopus from 2015 to 11 October 2026. Methods: Two Scopus exports were reconciled by EID and DOI to produce 2,215 articles and reviews. Annual production, source distribution and normalized author-keyword networks were examined. A prespecified dual-vocabulary screen identified 188 records with explicit ESD and justice/inclusion language in titles or abstracts; four overlapping justice dimensions and four educational contexts were mapped using reproducible lexical indicators. Results: Annual production rose from 26 records in 2015 to 525 in 2025; 2026 is incomplete. Four communities were detected in the broad 51-node keyword network. Within 188 lexical candidates, equity/accessibility language appeared in 130, participation/agency in 52, environmental/climate justice in 35 and recognition/epistemic justice in 32 records. Conclusion: Mapping reveals differentiated vocabularies linking justice with sustainability-oriented pedagogy and educational policy. Findings describe bibliographic and lexical patterns, not verified educational outcomes or a completed full-text systematic review.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Irawan Hadi Wiranata, Matang, Bekti Galih kurniawan, Dedy Ari Nugroho (Author)
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