Trends and Research Gaps in Ecosystem-Based Entrepreneurship Education: a Bibliometric Analysis, 2015–2024

Abstract

This study aims to map the development, thematic direction, and research gaps in the field of entrepreneurship education through bibliometric analysis of Scopus-indexed international publications during the period 2015–2024. Entrepreneurship education continues to undergo transformation, from a content-based approach to a more holistic and authentic experience-based ecosystem approach. However, studies on the integration of entrepreneurial ecosystems at the secondary education level are still limited, so scientific mapping is needed that can explain the knowledge landscape as well as identify opportunities for new research development. The data of this study consisted of 300 scientific articles that were analyzed using science mapping techniques, including co-occurrence of keywords, co-citation networks, and co-authorship analysis with the help of VOSviewer software. The results of the analysis showed four main research clusters: (1) entrepreneurial psychology and personal character, (2) entrepreneurship education and pedagogy, (3) innovation and economic development, and (4) entrepreneurial ecosystems and networks. Important findings show that the entrepreneurial ecosystem has become an increasingly prominent theme in the last five years, but the approach is still focused on higher education and has not been widely applied in the context of secondary schools. In addition, the relationship between the design of the educational ecosystem and the development of students' entrepreneurial spirit is still rarely researched. This study concludes that there is a significant need to develop a contextual ecosystem-based entrepreneurship education model, especially at the secondary school level. These findings provide new directions for future research as well as implications for curriculum designers and education policymakers.