DOI: 10.62425/rses.1909853 ISSN: 2822-3527

Bibliometric Analysis of Studies in the Field of Physical Literacy and Physical Education Using VOSviewer: A Web of Science Database Review

Hasibe Çoruh, Nimet Haşıl Korkmaz, Fatma Demir Zengin
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This study aims to examine the literature on physical literacy using bibliometric methods, moving from the general to the specific, with a particular focus on identifying trends in physical education. Within this scope, works published between 2000 and 2026 in the Web of Science database were scanned; 828 articles were analyzed in a general search using the keyword “Physical Literacy,” and 301 articles were analyzed in a specific search using the keywords “Physical Literacy” and “Physical Education” together. Within the scope of the analysis, publication years, countries, authors, universities, journals, citation impact, co-citation analysis, and keyword (co-occurrence) networks were examined and visualized using VOSviewer (1.6.20). The results show that Canada has the highest number of publications across general searches, while the United States has the highest number of publications in specific searches. The most frequently used keywords in the general search are “physical literacy,” “physical activity,” “physical education,” “children,” “motivation,” and “health,” while in the specific search, “physical literacy,” “physical education,” “physical activity,” “assessment,” “children,” and “pedagogy” stand out. The most cited study was Kirk (2013; 303 citations), while the most cited author in the general search was Tremblay Mark, in the specific search was Dudley Dean, and by country, in the general search was Canada, and in the specific search was the UK. In conclusion, while physical literacy research in the general literature focuses on health, physical activity, and child development, studies in the context of physical education tend to focus on teaching programs, pedagogical approaches, and teacher roles.

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