Research Trends and Patterns on Emotional Intelligence in Education: A Bibliometric and Knowledge Mapping During 2012–2021

Abstract

Abstract The increasing rate of publications on emotional intelligence, especially regarding student learning, underscores the need to study research trends in this domain. This research utilizes bibliometric and science mapping analyses to generate an overview of research on emotional intelligence in education, using data sourced from SCOPUS. The terms “emotional intelligence,” “teaching,” and “education” were used as keywords for data search and retrieval. Data were analysed using various bibliometric indicators such as the number of publications, citations, collaborations, co-citation, and keywords. While descriptive statistics were used to analyse bibliometric indicators, bibliometric network analyses using VOSviewer were carried out for science mapping analyses. The findings indicate that while publication counts surged between 2012 and 2021, average citations remained constant. Despite Western predominance, Asia significantly contributed to research output. Notable collaboration was seen among Asian, Balkan, and European nations, but limited among individual authors. The keyword analysis informed major themes such as leadership skills, training, medical education, entrepreneurship, personality, special needs, and psychosocial aspects. Summarily, emotional intelligence in education has emerged as a globally acknowledged research area, and this work elucidates its thematic knowledge, offering insights for prospective researchers.