Mapping the Integration of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into Art Education: A Bibliometric Analysis of Research Evolution and Future Directions

Zhiteng Yan, Weiwei Liu, Xincheng Luan, Mohd Hanafi Mohd Yasin, Mohd Sofian Omar Fauzee, Wan Suraya Wan Nik

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¹ Faculty of Education and Liberal Arts, INTI International University, Nilai 71800, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia,

² School of Fine Arts, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, Guangdong, China,

³ Qingdao Foreign Affairs Service Vocational School, Qingdao 266022, Shandong, China,

JCER 2026 , 10(4), 1–18; https://doi.org/10.26689/jcer.v10i4.14361

Abstract

With the advancement of the global sustainable development agenda, interdisciplinary research on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has gained increasing attention. Through a bibliometric analysis of 529 articles in the Web of Science Core Collection, this study analyzes the current status of the research and the trends in the area of the intersection of ESD and art education. Findings indicate that the increase in publications is significant after 2013. Co-citation and co-word analyses indicate that existing studies mainly focus on macro-level themes such as conceptual evolution, policy discourse, ecological ethics, and action competence, while art education remains weakly connected and lacks an independent research cluster. This is an indicator that the current research in art education on ESD remains in its early years with significant structural deficiencies. However, there are also new interdisciplinary connections, which show the potential for significant growth. By mapping the knowledge structure of the field, this study identifies theoretical foundations, research gaps, and future directions, offering insights for the systematic integration of ESD into art education.

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