Purpose – Mathematical representation is a core component of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME), enabling learners to construct mathematical meaning through multiple representations. Despite the growing body of research, existing reviews largely emphasize instructional effectiveness or bibliometric trends without explaining the field's intellectual evolution. This study mapped the evolution of mathematical representation research within RME by examining its research landscape, knowledge diffusion, intellectual structure, thematic development, and future directions.
Methodology – An integrated Systematic Literature Review and bibliometric analysis was conducted following the PRISMA protocol. Thirty-eight English-language journal articles indexed in Scopus were analysed using VOSviewer through publication trend analysis, collaboration networks, keyword co-occurrence, overlay and density visualisations, and bibliographic coupling.
Findings – Research has progressed through four developmental phases: Foundation, Expansion, Diversification, and Integration. The findings reveal global knowledge diffusion from the Netherlands as the theoretical origin to Indonesia as the principal site of contextual adaptation, with Malaysia serving as a key regional collaborator. Four interconnected intellectual domains emerged: instructional design, mathematical representation, assessment, and educational technology. Emerging research frontiers include longitudinal representational development, adaptive assessment, artificial intelligence, teacher professional learning, and cross-cultural implementation.
Novelty – This study proposes a theory-oriented bibliometric synthesis that integrates research trends, knowledge diffusion, intellectual structures, thematic evolution, and research frontiers into a unified conceptual framework.
Significance – The findings provide an evidence-based foundation for theory development, research prioritisation, and instructional innovation, advancing mathematical representation as a central construct in contemporary mathematics education.
P. Juliyanti, Arif Abdul Haqq, Muhammad Azam· International Journal of Con...· 0 citations
Purpose – Mathematical reasoning has become a central focus of mathematics education research; however, existing evidence remains fragmented across cognitive, pedagogical, affective, and representational perspectives. Previous reviews have rarely integrated bibliometric mapping with systematic evidence synthesis to explain the intellectual development of this field. This study aims to examine the intellectual structure, thematic evolution, and emerging research frontiers of mathematical reasoning in cognitive processes.
Methodology – This study employed a mixed-review design integrating bibliometric analysis and a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). Bibliographic data were retrieved from the Scopus database and selected using the PRISMA 2020 framework, resulting in 334 eligible journal articles. Bibliometric mapping was conducted using VOSviewer to analyse publication trends, country productivity, author collaboration, keyword co-occurrence, and density visualization, while qualitative synthesis was used to interpret thematic development and identify research gaps.
Findings – The results reveal three major findings. First, scientific production has increased markedly since 2018, reflecting growing international interest in mathematical reasoning within cognitive processes. Second, mathematical reasoning functions as the intellectual hub linking cognitive, pedagogical, linguistic, semiotic, and affective perspectives. Third, affective constructs, particularly motivation and self-efficacy, remain underrepresented, highlighting important opportunities for future interdisciplinary research.
Novelty – This study provides the first integrated synthesis combining bibliometric analysis and PRISMA-guided SLR to map the intellectual structure, thematic evolution, and research frontiers of mathematical reasoning in cognitive processes.
Significance – The findings offer an evidence-based foundation for researchers, curriculum developers, and mathematics educators to develop more comprehensive theoretical models and interdisciplinary research agendas that integrate cognitive, affective, and instructional dimensions of mathematical reasoning.
Miratus Sholikha, Arif Abdul Haqq, Nasir Umar· Indonesian Journal of Teachi...· 0 citations