A Bibliometric Review on Sound Governance in Education: Research Trend and Policy Impact

Abstract

This research examines the application of sound governance principles in education by analyzing research publications and identifying the limited number of studies on the topic. The research used a two-stage method: first, a bibliometric analysis of 128 documents from 106 sources in the Scopus database (1996-2024) using RStudio and VOSviewer, and second, a systematic review of literature directly connecting "sound governance" and "education." The results show a significant increase in publications, with a 22.83% annual growth rate and an average of 14.13 citations per document. Thematic analysis revealed topics focused on sustainable development, health policy, and public administration. Critically, "education" was not a primary topic in these publications, showing it is not a central part of the existing research. The systematic literature review confirmed this gap, identifying only six relevant articles that directly investigate sound governance in an educational context. The conclusion is that while effective governance is required to improve educational quality, efficiency, and equity, the subject is not adequately researched. Therefore, more direct studies are necessary to create and implement functional governance models that will improve educational institutions.