Mapping the landscape of local school governance: a bibliometric review

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to review the research field local school governance (LSG) by analyzing research papers available in the Scopus database. Particularly, it examines the growth trajectory, collaboration patterns, identifies the top 20 contributors (country, author and journal), key concepts and active themes in LSG. Design/methodology/approach A total of 2,610 relevant documents has been extracted as sample data from Scopus using appropriate keywords and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. Thereafter, bibliometric methods and tools such as Biblioshiny and VOSviewer were used to conduct different analyses, such as author co-citation, keyword co-occurrence and bibliographic coupling. Findings Results revealed an upward growth trend in LSG research. USA, Educational Administration Quarterly and K. Leithwood have been identified as the most influential country, journal and author, respectively. Collaboration remains limited, particularly among developing countries and authors. The emerging concepts are decentralization, democracy, accountability, inclusivity, parental involvement, school reform, gender, information and communication technology and school culture. Lastly, eight active themes have been identified within the LSG research domain. Research limitations/implications Its analysis and findings relied on papers and research papers published in the Scopus database, which may limit the scope for generalization of findings. Originality/value The LSG research domain remains underexplored through bibliometric methods – a gap this study addresses using exclusively collected empirical data. It not only strengthens the existing knowledge base but also offers clear directions for future research.