I recently came across a journal articleFootnote1 published in 2019 which provided an in-depth bibliometric analysis of construction education related research in the 35-year time period between the years 1982 and 2017. While the article has a number of interesting analyses, one particularly struck me: Of all the 52 construction discipline related journals identified and included in the scope of the research, our journal, the International Journal of Construction Education and Research (IJCER), by far had the largest number of construction education related publications in the period of analysis, even though it is a fairly young journal, especially when compared to many others in the list. Subsequently, one of the main findings of this research was that the IJCER is one of the most prominent journals publishing construction education related studies. This finding was confirmed in a more recent studyFootnote2 which performed a similar analysis for the time period 2010-2020 and concluded that the IJCER is the most prominent journal for construction education research, having the highest number of construction education related publications and receiving the largest number of citations in the period of analysis.
Indeed, when we analyze our own data, we find a significant number of papers that focus on the “education” aspect of construction. In fact, our journal has traditionally had a larger number of articles with pedagogical content than the ones that have other aspects of construction related research. For example, a cursory review of last year’s (Volume 19) issues shows that 60% of the articles published in our journal in 2023 were construction education related. The reason that our journal is heavier on construction education related research can be traced back to its roots when it was originally established with the name “Journal of Construction Education.”
Given that our journal has been the leading publisher of education-focused scholarship in the construction domain, we felt it would be appropriate to celebrate its 20th anniversary by publishing a special issue with a focus on research methodologies applied in construction education-focused studies. The aim of this special issue will be to provide a concentrated resource that construction academics can leverage when planning and executing education-focused research endeavors.
The official announcement for this special issue is to be made at the 60th Annual Associated Schools of Construction International Conference in April, 2024 which has the theme “Transformative Learning Experiences for Construction Education;” and call for papers is to be distributed widely after then. The special issue will have strict deadlines with the hopes of making it ready for the last (October) issue of 2024, allowing us to conclude this celebratory year by publishing a valuable resource for our readers. The editorial team of our journal along with the guest editors are committed to publishing this special issue; but our community of researchers’ input and participation are critical to make this endeavor a success. After all, this is our collective responsibility to our journal.
Notes
1 Zheng, L., Chen, K., and Lu, W. (2019). Bibliometric Analysis of Construction Education Research from 1982 to 2017. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice. 145(3), 04019005.1–04,019,005.12.
2 Aliu, J., and Aigbavboa, C. (2023). Reviewing the trends of construction education research in the last decade: a bibliometric analysis. International Journal of Construction Management. 23(9), 1571–1580.