Research Trends in Science and Mathematics Education in South Korea 2014–2018: A Cross-Disciplinary Analysis of Publications in Selected Local Journals

Although science education and mathematics education share many characteristics as neighboring research disciplines, comparisons between the two research fields in the literature have rarely been made. In this study, we examine the two fields’ similarities and differences in the local context of South Korea by analyzing 2,426 research articles published in 15 selected local journals from both fields. The analysis revealed interesting commonalities and divergences across the two fields, suggesting a high degree of similarity in the distribution of research topics across the two fields. Nevertheless, some topics were more frequently studied in one field than the other. Based on the results, we suggest that understanding the ongoing research agendas and aims of adjacent disciplines such as mathematics education will be beneficial to the science education community by allowing self-reflection and facilitating interdisciplinary communication and collaboration. Several potential ways in which the two disciplines can cross-fertilize are discussed.