SavedAdd your journal

Journals / Uluslararası Sosyal Bilgiler Eğitimi Dergisi / 2025 / Cilt: 7 Sayı: 1

Bibliometric Analysis of Studies On Spatial Thinking

Mekânsal Düşünme Üzerine Yapılan Çalışmaların Bibliyometrik Analizi

Özlem Elvan(ORDU ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0002-1357-966X
Kadir Karatekin(KASTAMONU ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0003-3807-7030
Turan Yiğit(KASTAMONU ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0002-7487-6246
Pages
94–115
Publication Date
2026-01-01
DOI
—
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Therefore, it is recommended that researchers develop interdisciplinary collaborative projects and jointly shape the theoretical framework.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:The central role of spatial thinking in underpinning scientific discovery, supporting the modern workforce, and addressing everyday problem-solving has led to increased scholarly interest in this domain.
📊
Key Findings & Data:The data was collected on May 5, 2025.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:Therefore, it is recommended that researchers develop interdisciplinary collaborative projects and jointly shape the theoretical framework.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:2025 Verileri
⚙️Variables:Mekânsal düşünme · mekânsal düşünme becerisi · bibliyometrik analiz

Abstract

The central role of spatial thinking in underpinning scientific discovery, supporting the modern workforce, and addressing everyday problem-solving has led to increased scholarly interest in this domain. Especially after educators realised the important role of spatial thinking in their own disciplines, they started to look for educational interventions that could improve students' spatial thinking. In this regard, spatial thinking has been the subject of many scientific studies. In this study, it is aimed to map the studies on spatial thinking based on bibliometric data. In addition, the study aims to present a systematic summary of the studies on spatial thinking to researchers using bibliometric analysis and to reveal the trends and gaps related to the concept. As the unit of analysis, the bibliometric data of published articles scanned in the Web of Science (WoS) database were taken into consideration. The data was collected on May 5, 2025. During the study process, WoS databases were searched for research themes using the keywords “critical spatial thinking”, “spatial thinking”, “spatial thinking ability”, “spatial thinking skills” and “visual-spatial thinking”. As search criteria, ‘document title, key, abstract’ was selected. As a result of the analysis made with the determined criteria and keywords, 980 studies were reached. Bibliometric data obtained from academic studies constitute the data set of the study. As a result of the research, it was seen that studies on spatial thinking skills have increased significantly since 2011. Most studies were conducted in the fields of education and geography. It was observed that the USA led the studies on spatial thinking, followed by China, England, Germany, Canada and Turkey. It was seen that the studies were mostly published in journals indexed in Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) followed by Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). Studies on spatial thinking have been conducted across diverse fields such as education, geography, psychology, computer science and environmental sciences. Therefore, it is recommended that researchers develop interdisciplinary collaborative projects and jointly shape the theoretical framework.

Özet

Mekânsal düşünmenin bilimsel keşiflerin temelini oluşturması, modern iş gücünü desteklemesi ve günlük yaşam problemlerinin çözümünde önemli bir rol oynaması bu konuya olan akademik ilgiyi arttırmıştır. Özellikle eğitimciler mekânsal düşünmenin kendi disiplinlerindeki önemli rolünü fark ettikten sonra öğrencilerin mekânsal düşünmelerini geliştirebilecek eğitsel müdahaleleri hızla aramaya başlamışlardır. Bu doğrultuda mekânsal düşünme, birçok bilimsel araştırmaya da konu olmuştur. Bu araştırmada bibliyometrik analiz kullanılarak mekânsal düşünme üzerine yapılan çalışmaların haritasını çıkarmak ve bu araştırmaların sistemli bir özetinin araştırmacılara sunularak kavrama ilişkin eğilimlerin ve boşlukların ortaya konulması amaçlanmıştır. Analiz birimi olarak Web of Science (WoS) veri tabanında taranan yayınlanmış makalelerin bibliyometrik verisi dikkate alınmıştır. Veriler 05.05.2025 tarihinde çekilmiştir. Çalışma sürecinde WoS veri tabanlarında “eleştirel mekansal düşünme”, “mekansal düşünme” “mekansal düşünme yeteneği”, “mekansal düşünme becerisi” ve “görsel uzamsal/mekânsal düşünme” anahtar kelimeleri kullanılarak araştırma temalarında arama yapılmıştır. Arama kriteri olarak “doküman başlığı, anahtar, özet” seçilmiştir. Belirlenen kriterler ve anahtar sözcükler ile yapılan analiz sonucu 980 araştırmaya ulaşılmıştır. Akademik çalışmalardan elde edilen bibliyometrik veri, çalışmanın veri setini oluşturmaktadır. Araştırma bulgularına göre mekânsal düşünme becerileri ile ilgili yapılan çalışmaların 2011 yılından itibaren ciddi bir artış gösterdiği görülmüştür. En çok eğitim ve coğrafya alanında çalışmalar yapılmıştır. Mekânsal düşünme ile ilgili çalışmalara ABD’nin öncülük ettiği onu Çin, İngiltere, Almanya, Kanada ve Türkiye’nin izlediği görülmüştür. Yapılan çalışmaların en çok Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) onu takiben ise Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) indeksli dergilerde yayınlandığı görülmüştür. Mekânsal düşünme üzerine yapılmış çalışmaların eğitim, coğrafya, psikoloji, bilgisayar ve çevre bilimleri gibi farklı alanlarda yürütüldüğü görülmektedir. Bu nedenle araştırmacıların disiplinler arası ortak projeler geliştirmesi ve kuramsal çerçeveyi birlikte şekillendirmesi önerilmektedir.

🔖

Cite This Article

Elvan, Ö., Karatekin, K., Yiğit, T. (2026). Bibliometric Analysis of Studies On Spatial Thinking. Uluslararası Sosyal Bilgiler Eğitimi Dergisi, Cilt: 7 Sayı: 1, 94–115. https://ajindex.com/articles/1623565

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (45)

  1. Baloğlu Uğurlu, N., & Aladağ, E. (2015). Mekânsal düşünmenin Türkiye’de sosyal bilgiler öğretim programındaki yeri ve öğretmenlerin bu beceri hakkındaki görüşleri. Marmara Coğrafya Dergisi (32), 22-42.
  2. Bednarz, R. & Lee, J. (2019). What improves spatial thinking? evidence from the spatial thinking abilities test. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 28(4), 262-280.
  3. Bednarz, R. S., & Bednarz, S. W. (2008). The importance of spatial thinking in an uncertain world. İçinde D. Z. Sui (Ed.), Geospatial technologies and homeland security: Research frontiers and future challenges (ss. 315-330). Springer.
  4. Chen, Y. C., Yang, F. Y., & Chang, C. C. (2020). Conceptualizing spatial abilities and their relation to science learning from a cognitive perspective. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 19(1), 50-63.
  5. Collins, L. (2018). The impact of paper versus digital map technology on students’ spatial thinking skill acquisition. Journal of Geography, 117(4), 137-152.
  6. Donthu, N., Kumar, S., Mukherjee, D., Pandey, N. & Lim, W. M. (2021). How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, (133), 285-296.
  7. D’Oliveira, T. C. (2004). Dynamic spatial ability: An exploratory analysis and a confirmatory study. International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 14(1), 19-38.
  8. Duarte, R. G. (2018). School cartography and spatial thinking of brazilian students at the end of junior high school. Boletim Paulista De Geografia, 99, 185-199.
  9. Ellegaard, O. & Wallin, J. A. (2015). The bibliometric analysis of scholarly production: How great is the impact? Scientometrics. (105),1809-1831.
  10. Goodchild, M. F. & Janelle, D. G. (2010). Toward critical spatial thinking in the social sciences and humanities. GeoJournal (75), 3-13.
  11. Harris, D. (2021). Spatial ability, skills, reasoning or thinking: What does it mean for mathematics?. Excellence in Mathematics Education: Foundations and Pathways. Proceedings of the 43rd annual conference of the Mathematics, 219-226.
  12. Hegarty, M. (2010). Components of spatial intelligence. İçinde B. H. Ross (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation: Advances in research and theory (ss. 265-297). Elsevier Academic.
  13. Hespanha, S. R., Goodchild, F. & Janelle, D. G. (2009). Spatial thinking and technologies in the undergraduate social science classroom. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 33(1), 17-27.
  14. Huynh, N., & Sharpe, B. (2013). An assessment ınstrument to measure geospatial thinking expertise. Journal of Geography.
  15. Jo, I., & Bednarz, S. W. (2014). Dispositions toward teaching spatial thinking through geography: Conceptualization and an exemplar assessment. Journal of Geography, 113(5), 198-207.
  16. Jo, I., Hong, J. E., & Verma, K. (2016). Facilitating spatial thinking in world geography using Web-based GIS. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 40 (3), 442-459.
  17. Jo, I., & Hong, J. E. (2018) Geography education, spatial thinking, and geospatial technologies: Introduction to the special ıssue. International Journal of Geospatial and Environmental Research, 5 (3). 1-5.
  18. Ishikawa, T. (2013). Geospatial thinking and spatial ability: An empirical examination of knowledge and reasoning in geographical science. The Professional Geographer, 65(4),636-646.
  19. Kerski, J. (2008). Developing spatial thinking skills in education and society. ArcWatch: Your e-Magazine for GIS News, Views, and Insights. http://www.esri.com/news/arcwatch/0108/spatial-thinking.html
  20. Kim, M., & Bednarz, R. (2013). Development of critical spatial thinking through GIS learning. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 37(3), 350-366.
  21. Lee, J. (2005). Effect of GIS learning on spatial ability, [Unpublıshed doctoral dıssertation], Texas A &M University, College Station.
  22. Lee, J. & Bednarz, R. (2009). Effect of gıs learning on spatial thinking. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 33(2), 183-198.
  23. Liu, Z., Yin, Y., Liu, W. & Dunford, M. (2015). Visualizing the intellectual structure and evolution of innovation systems research: a bibliometric analysis. (103), 135-158.
  24. Lubinski, D. (2010). Spatial ability and STEM: A sleeping giant for talent identification and development. Personality and Individual Differences. (49).
  25. Madsen, L. M., & Rump, C. (2012). Consideration how to study learning processes when students uses GIS as an instrument for developing spatial thinking skills. Journal of Geography in Higher Education 36(1), 97-116.
  26. Maresch, G. & Sorby, S. (2021). Perspectives on spatial thinking. Journal for Geometry and Graphics. 25. 271-293.
  27. Merç, A. (2017). Sosyal bilgiler dersine mekân algılama becerisinin kazandırılmasında google earth uygulamasının etkililiği. (Tez No:458648) [Doktora Tezi, Anadolu Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü]. Ulusal Tez Merkezi.
  28. Metoyer, S.K., Bednarz, S.W. & Bednarz, R.S. (2015). Spatial thinking in education: Concepts, development, and assessment. İçinde O. M. Solari, O. Demirci, A. & J. Schee, (Eds) Geospatial technologies and geography education in a changing world. advances in geographical and environmental sciences (ss. 21-33). Springer.
  29. Mohan, A. & Mohan, L. (2013). Spatial thinking about maps: Development of concepts and skills across the early years. Report prepared for National Geographic Education Programs.
  30. Mohan, L., Mohan, A. & Uttal, D. (2014). Research on thinking and learning with maps and geospatial technologies. İçinde M. N. Solem, N. T. Huynh, & R. G. Boehm (Eds.), Learning progressions for maps, geospatial technology, and spatial thinking: A research handbook (ss. 9-21). Cambridge Scholars.
  31. National Research Council [NRC} (2006). Learning to think spatially: GIS as a support system in the K-12 curriculum. The National Academies. Washington, USA.
  32. Schultz, R. B., Kerski, J. J. & Patterson, T. C. (2008). The use of virtual globes as a spatial teaching tool with suggestions for metadata standards, Journal of Geography, 107(1), 27-34.
  33. Serinci, H., & Özdemir, N. (2022). Orta öğretim öğrencilerinin mekânsal düşünme becerilerinin incelenmesi. Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli Üniversitesi SBE Dergisi, 12(3), 1448-1468.
  34. Shin, E. E., Milson, A. J., & Smith, T. J. (2016). Future teachers’ spatial thinking skills and attitudes. Journal of Geography, 115(4), 139-146.
  35. Sinton, D. S. (2012). Spatial Thinking. İçinde J. Stoltman (Ed.), 21St century Geography: A reference handbook (ss.733-743). Sage.
  36. Slattery, E. J., Butler, D., Marshall, K., Barrett, M., Hyland, N., O'Leary, M., & McAvinue, L. P. (2024). Effectiveness of a minecraft education intervention for improving spatial thinking in primary school children: A mixed methods two-level cluster randomised trial. Learning and Instruction 94, 1-17. 102003.
  37. Sözcü, U., & Aydınözü, D. (2020). Coğrafya bölümü öğrencilerinin doğal afetlere yönelik farkındalıklarının mekânsal düşünme bağlamında analizi. Erciyes Journal of Education, 4(1), 1-19.
  38. Şanlı, C. (2019). Coğrafya öğretmen adaylarının mekânsal düşünme becerisine ilişkin görüşleri. Anadolu Kültürel Araştırmalar Dergisi, 3(3), 215-233.
  39. Şanlı, C. (2021). Mekânsal düşünme becerisi testinin geliştirilmesi. International Journal of Eurasia Social Sciences (IJOESS), 12(43), 1-18.
  40. Uttal, D. H., & Cohen, C. A. (2012). Spatial thinking and STEM education: When, why and how? İçibnde B. H. Ross (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation (ss.147-181). Academic.
  41. Uttal, D. H., Miller, D. I., & Newcombe, N. S. (2013). Exploring and Enhancing Spatial Thinking: Links to Achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(5), 367-373.
  42. Ünlü, M., & Yıldırım, S. (2017). Coğrafya dersi öğretim programına bir coğrafi beceri önerisi: Mekânsal düşünme becerisi. Marmara Coğrafya Dergisi, (35), 13-20.
  43. Wai, J., Lubinski, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2009). Spatial ability for STEM domains: Aligning over 50 years of cumulative psychological knowledge solidifies its importance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101 (4), 817-835.
  44. Yalçın, A., Şanlı, C., & Pınar, A. (2025). Developing a spatial thinking skills test in geography teaching. Journal of Theoretical Educational Sciences, 18 (2), 280-301.
  45. Yiğit, T., & Karatekin, K. (2021). The effect of orienteering applications on students' spatial thinking skills in social studies: The case of Turkey. Review of International Geographical Education Online, 11(1), 75-99.