A Bibliometric Review of Research on Inequality of Educational Achievement, 1934 to 2023. EdWorkingPaper No. 24-1094

In this bibliometric review of the research landscape on achievement gaps, we analyze temporal trends and geographic distributions, identify key scholars and publications, and uncover the intellectual structure and thematic focus of achievement gap research. By examining 1,607 achievement gap studies between 1937 and 2023, we find that the scholarship has evolved through four distinct stages: pre-1960, 1960-1999, 2000-2010, and post-2010. Author co-citation analysis reveals six major schools of thought that underpin how scholars conceptualize and study achievement gap: Child Development, Economic Analysis, Social Contexts of Schools, Schooling Process, School Discipline, and Psychological Dynamics. Our findings underscore the need for more interconnected, interdisciplinary approaches that integrate various paradigms to address the achievement gap comprehensively. We advocate for future research to move beyond isolated impacts by promoting collaborative efforts among all stakeholders from multiple disciplines.