Assistive Technologies in Mathematics Education: A Bibliometric Analysis from 2006 to 2026

Abstract

This study presents a bibliometric analysis of assistive technologies in mathematics education, mapping the intellectual structure and developmental trajectory of this research area from 2006 to 2026. Following the PRISMA 2020 protocol, 471 records were retrieved from the Scopus database and screened against inclusion criteria addressing publication timeframe, document type, and language, yielding a final dataset of 400 records eligible for analysis. Descriptive and citation metrics were computed in Microsoft Excel, and science mapping analyses, including co-authorship, keyword co-occurrence, thematic mapping, and three-field plot analysis, were performed using VOSviewer 1.6.20. Results indicate a generally upward publication trend, rising from 5 records in 2006 to a peak of 60 in 2025, with the United States contributing the largest share of output (233 records), followed by Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. Michigan State University and Purdue University emerged as the most productive institutions, while Thurlow M. L. and Bouck E.C. were the most prolific authors.

The dataset accumulated 5,077 total citations, led by a highly cited neuroscience-informed article on dyscalculia. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identified accessibility, assistive technology, mathematics, and accommodations as the dominant conceptual core, while artificial intelligence and machine learning emerged as a rapidly consolidating research front after 2023. These findings suggest that although the field remains anchored in longstanding themes of accommodation and accessibility, it is undergoing a technological reorientation toward intelligent and adaptive systems. The study offers researchers, educators, and technology developers an evidence-based overview of collaboration patterns, influential contributors, and emerging priorities in this growing interdisciplinary domain.