TRACING TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION IN EDUCATION: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND VIRTUAL LABORATORIES

Abstract

This study examines the literature at the intersection of special education and virtual laboratories through bibliometric methods, identifying research trends in the emerging field. Growing interest has been observed between STEM/STEAM education and special education, with virtual laboratories serving as a bridge connecting these domains. A total of 1000 publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection between 2000 and 2025 were analyzed, using the keywords "Special Education" and "Virtual Laboratory," with data visualized through VOSviewer software. The analyses covered four main categories: international collaboration, institutional collaboration, author collaboration, and keyword distribution. Findings show that China and the United States lead in publication output. While international collaboration networks exist among many countries, they remain concentrated in specific geographic regions and limited at the global scale. At the institutional level, Chinese universities such as Nanjing University and Beijing University stand out, showing high publication volumes. The author collaboration network reveals intensive scientific production among China-based researchers, though interdisciplinary collaboration remains limited. Keyword analysis highlights the predominance of virtual reality and experience-based learning environments, alongside growing interest in virtual laboratory applications for specific groups such as autism spectrum disorder and Williams syndrome/intellectual disability. The study concludes that the field continues to expand, but greater interdisciplinary collaboration and global knowledge exchange are needed, noting that integrating virtual laboratories with special education within STEM/STEAM remains a still-emerging area.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis, special education, virtual laboratory, stem/steam education, VOSviewer

Ethics and Conflict of Interest

This study was presented as an oral paper at the Xth National Congress on the Education of the Gifted and Talented. All ethical rules were observed at each stage of the research. The authors declare that he acted in accordance with ethical rules in all processes of the research. The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of interest with other persons, institutions or organizations.

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