Prospects in the field of learning and individual differences: Examining the past to forecast the future using bibliometrics

Abstract

Over two centuries, research has delved into individual differences in learning across educational and professional contexts. This commentary conducts a bibliometric analysis of 6556 articles, identifying key research keywords, topics and themes, and their historical evolution. The findings revealed a longstanding emphasis on educational psychology, particularly motivation and achievement, rather than cross-curricular competencies and learner's well-being and socio-economic background. Notably, self-regulated learning (SRL) emerged as an overarching research subject in terms of motivation and achievement, but, surprisingly, not (meta)cognition. Prospects for the field build on cross-disciplinary research, theoretical refinement, and methodological advances. Further, the field is expected to maintain academic rigor, address diversity among learners, foster global collaboration, and focus on underprivileged populations.