Decoding the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Programming Education: A Topic Modeling Analysis

ABSTRACT Programming education plays a vital role in today's digital world, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into this field has attracted growing scholarly attention. Considering this increasing interest, this study explores the evolving landscape of AI in programming education by examining temporal developments and shifting research trends. A total of 1186 articles published between 1977 and 2025 and indexed in the Scopus database were analyzed using machine learning‐based semantic topic modeling and descriptive analysis. The results reveal patterns in publication trends over time, key contributing countries, and the distribution of studies across journals and conference proceedings. Topic modeling identified 12 major themes, with the most prominent including “Learning Methods & Teaching Support,” “Programming Errors & Code Learning,” “Programming Courses & Student Performance,” and “ChatGPT in Programming Education.” This study offers a comprehensive overview of the field's development, providing valuable insights for researchers, educators, and policymakers.