Mapping research on inclusive education since Salamanca Statement: a bibliometric review of the literature over 25 years

The purpose of this study is to map the research literature on inclusive education (IE) since the Salamanca Statement using metadata extracted from 7,084 Scopus-indexed publications over the last 25 years in terms of the growth trajectory, productivity, collaborative networks, and intellectual structure of the field. Main findings of the study are: (1) the academic interest on IE has risen from the Salamanca Statement to date; (2) IE research is a global phenomenon and is produced in most countries around the world, although the bulk of research is still published by a small number of authors and countries; (3) there is a noteworthy level of scientific collaboration in the field, with numerous consolidated research groups and robust research collaborations between countries; (4) four schools of thought define the intellectual structure of IE research: system and structures, special education, accessibility and participation, and critical research; (5) four general themes have been addressed in the literature over the last 25 years: IE in higher education settings, pre-service teacher education and their attitudes towards IE, teaching for inclusion and in-service professional development on IE, and practices and principles of IE. Findings are discussed and implications for the development of the field are presented.