Science Mapping the Knowledge Base on Student Retention in Higher Education: A Bibliometric Review of Research Papers from 1914-2022

Abstract

In this study, we systematically review existing research on college student retention. It utilizes a total of 5277 publications indexed either in Scopus or Web of Science from 1914 to 2022. The results show that most of the research on student retention has been conducted in English-speaking countries such as the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The United States produces almost two-thirds of scholarly publications worldwide. The term ‘retention’ is commonly used alongside ‘persistence,’ ‘attrition,’ ‘engagement,’ and ‘success.’ Moreover, the term higher education is associated with dropout, completion, and academic performance, as well as new methodological terms like data mining, machine learning, learning analytics, and logistic regression. Retention is also studied in fields such as nursing, engineering, and STEM. Special attention is given to community colleges due to higher dropout rates. Unlike the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada, where higher education research on retention is extensive, countries like China and India, which have recently expanded their higher education systems, show a comparatively limited volume of research output concerning student retention.

Keywords

• Student retention
• persistence
• dropout
• attrition
• success
• college
• higher education

Yükseköğretimde Öğrenci Tutunmasına İlişkin Bilgi Tabanının Bilimsel Haritalandırılması: 1914-2022 Yılları Arasındaki Araştırma Makalelerinin Bibliyometrik Bir İncelemesi

Öz

:Bu çalışmada, üniversite öğrencilerinin tutunmasına ilişkin mevcut araştırmalar sistematik bir şekilde incelenmiştir. Çalışmada, 1914-2022 yılları arasında Scopus veya Web of Science veri tabanları tarafından dizinlenen toplam 5277 yayın ele alınmıştır. Bulgulara göre, öğrenci tutunması ile ilgili araştırmalar büyük ölçüde İngilizce konuşulan ülkelerde, özellikle Amerika Birleşik Devletleri, Avustralya, Birleşik Krallık ve Kanada'da gerçekleştirilmektedir. Ek olarak, dünya genelindeki akademik yayınların neredeyse üçte ikisi Amerika Birleşik Devletleri'nde üretilmektedir. 'Tutunma' (retention) terimi sıklıkla 'süreklilik' (persistence), 'bırakma' (attrition), 'katılım' (engagement) ve 'başarı' (success) terimleriyle birlikte kullanılmaktadır. Ayrıca, yükseköğretim terimi, okul terki (dropout), tamamlama ve akademik başarı gibi kavramlarla birlikte veri madenciliği, makine öğrenmesi, öğrenme analitiği ve lojistik regresyon gibi yeni metodolojik terimlerle ilişkilendirilmektedir. Tutunma, hemşirelik, mühendislik ve STEM gibi alanlarda da çalışılmaktadır. Daha yüksek okul terki oranları nedeniyle mahallî kolejlerde (community colleges) tutunmaya özel bir dikkat gösterilmektedir. Amerika Birleşik Devletleri, Avustralya, Birleşik Krallık ve Kanada gibi ülkelerde tutunma üzerine yükseköğretim araştırmaları geniş bir yer tutarken, yükseköğretim sistemlerini yakın zamanda genişleten Çin ve Hindistan gibi ülkelerde öğrenci tutunmasıyla ilgili araştırma çıktılarının görece sınırlı olduğu görülmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• öğrenci devamlılığı
• süreklilik
• bırakma
• terk
• başarı
• yükseköğretim.

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