Bibliometric study of environmental education: Scientific architecture and the transition toward micro-educational and behavioral approaches

Abstract

Although scientific production in environmental education has grown steadily, fragmented approaches and limited interdisciplinary integration persist. Moreover, the transition from macronormative frameworks to microeducational approaches oriented toward behavioral change remains insufficiently characterized. The objective of this study was to comprehensively analyze the scientific architecture of environmental education, identifying its structural evolution, key actors, predominant sources, funding dynamics, thematic trends, and scientific production cycle, with particular attention to the shift toward microeducational and behavioral approaches. The study followed a rigorous and consolidated four-stage bibliometric method. A total of 4,952 documents indexed in Scopus were analyzed using the Bibliometrix software, examining six main indicators: (1) authors, (2) sponsors, (3) thematic evolution and conceptual structure, (4) sources, (5) documents, and (6) scientific production. The findings reveal sustained expansion in environmental education, with a productivity peak in 2025 and a projected stabilization toward 2032, confirming its advanced consolidation phase. An editorial structure concentrated in historical core journals—Environmental Education Research and Journal of Environmental Education—was identified, alongside growing interdisciplinary expansion toward sustainability, higher education, and technological innovation. Scientific leadership is concentrated in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, although emerging economies such as Brazil and China are gaining prominence. Thematically, macrostructural cores linked to sustainability and sustainable development persist; however, microeducational approaches such as pro-environmental behavior, outdoor environmental education, and environmental knowledge are emerging more strongly, indicating a shift toward the analysis of situated learning processes and behavioral change. Bibliometric findings were contrasted with evidence from other bibliometric studies and systematic reviews. It is concluded that environmental education has evolved from a paradigm centered on global normative frameworks toward a multidimensional model integrating experience, behavior, technological innovation, and community action. The study provides insights for educational policy and teaching practice.