Tracing Shifts in K–12 Education Research: A Topic Modeling Analysis of Publications from 1990-2023

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  In Roundtable Session: Educational Leadership and Policy for Systemic Change

Abstract

Tracing shifts in education research is critically important for understanding how the field has evolved and in determining topics for further study. This paper analyzes topical trends in K-12 education research over three decades. We identify the central topics and which topics became increasingly or decreasingly popular. Analyzing the abstracts of 22,921 articles published in 27 journals from 1990-2023, we used BERTopic, a topic modeling technique that uses language modeling to extract and cluster topics. Our analysis revealed 43 main topics clustered around eight themes. The most prominent topics were reading, critical studies of race and identity, and college access. Some topical trends reflect policy and sociopolitical shifts or methodological advances. Implications for future research are discussed.

Authors

• Amanda L. Datnow, University of California - San Diego

• Yan Jiang, Stanford University

• John Diaz, University of California - San Diego

• Vicki Park, San Diego State University