Plastic and Visual Education in 2021: State of the Art Through the Web of Science

Abstract

Research in plastic and visual education covers a wide variety of topics and problems of inquiry. My objective was to identify and analyze the research in this discipline from the past decade on Web of Science; to describe the significant scientific production; and to detect thematic lines, approaches, and models. A mixed method was applied, involving network analysis, scientific mapping, the visualization of similarities, and visual analysis techniques in a structured four-phase design. The analyses allowed me to explore the objectives by establishing a map of the state of the field, with four thematic lines, nine approaches, and eight research methodologies. I found an increase in scientific production in the past 3 years, which revealed a focus on the discipline’s traditional issues, such as evaluation and educational processes, an emphasis on the educational approach over the artistic one, and an absence of significant coauthorship networks.