Science mapping research on Career guidance in general schools: a bibliometric analysis from Scopus database, 1964–2022

Career guidance, which strongly influences the world labor market and social structure, is studied in many countries on different levels. This study aims to explore the number, growth trajectories, and geographic distribution of studies on Career guidance in general schools and identify prominent influential authors, sources, publications, and new research issues. Bibliometric analysis is employed to analyze all 382 publications on the topic of Career guidance in general schools in the Scopus database. The data shows that the volume of scientific publications in this field remained steady from 1964 to 2010, while the period from 2010 to 2022 experienced a significant increase. There is a total of 2412 authors participating in research on this topic, from 1609 institutions, in 98 different countries and regions. Besides the studies of American, Italian, and Russian scholars, researchers in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Australia also play a notable role in this topic. The most cited and notable journal on this topic is the British Journal of Guidance and Counseling. Recently, the most prevalent research topics include influencing general school students to prepare for their career readiness, and the opportunity to create social justice in understanding and deciding on career options.