Fragmentation and asymmetry in local wisdom and science literacy research: A decade bibliometric synthesis

Abstract

Local wisdom and science literacy are increasingly recognized as complementary foundations for culturally responsive and contextually relevant education. However, the extent to which these two domains have been integrated within educational research remains unclear. This study aims to map the evolution, thematic structure, and intellectual foundations of research on local wisdom and science literacy. A bibliometric approach was employed to analyze 1,016 journal articles indexed in the Scopus database and published between 2016 and 2025. Bibliographic data were processed using the Bibliometrix package in R through the Biblioshiny interface to examine annual scientific production, source distribution, country productivity, citation patterns, keyword co-occurrence, cocitation networks, thematic mapping, trend topics, and conceptual structures.The results indicate a substantial increase in publication output over the observed period, with research activity accelerating particularly after 2021. The thematic structure of the field reveals a polarized knowledge architecture in which culturally grounded constructs such as local wisdom, sustainability, and character education coexist with science-oriented constructs including science literacy and science education, yet with limited conceptual integration between them. The geographical distribution of publications demonstrates a strong concentration of empirical production in developing countries, particularly Indonesia, while advanced research systems maintain greater citation influence within the global knowledge network. International collaboration patterns remain largely hub-dependent, reflecting uneven participation across regions. Overall, the findings suggest that research on local wisdom and science literacy has expanded rapidly in volume but remains conceptually fragmented and epistemically asymmetrical. The field continues to develop through parallel thematic trajectories rather than a fully integrated interdisciplinary framework.