Visualising trends in computational thinking research from 2012 to 2021: A bibliometric analysis

Using the analytical tool CiteSpace, this review study conducted a bibliometric analysis of the characteristics of 249 studies on Computational Thinking (CT) indexed in the Web of Science from 2012 to 2021. The multi-dimensional analytical approach provided a holistic view of the scope of CT research and its progression,and enabled the major topics, themes, disciplinary domains, and prominent authors, institutes, countries/regions, and papers to be identified. Based on the general descriptive data analysis, the results showed that CT has gained increasing influence as a field of research over the past decade. A clustering analysis of the retrieved keywords showed that the development of CT in K-12 education was the most frequently discussed topic. The co-occurrence knowledge maps identified the 11 main research themes and their progress. The research was from a wide spectrum of disciplines including education, science education, computer science, interdisciplinary application, psychology, engineering, and information systems. The highest co-citations were found in the journals of Communication of the ACM, Computers and Education, and Computers in Human Behaviors. The researchers, institutes, and countries/regions that have made the most significant contributions to CT research and the 10 most highly cited CT studies were also identified. Overall, the findings of this review study indicate the paths for future research on developing CT in the classroom.