Sustainability and efficiency in school management: A bibliometric portrait of smart school research

Muhamad Sholeh(1), Syunu Trihantoyo(2), Karwanto Karwanto(3), Aditya Chandra Setiawan(4),
(1) Educational Management, Universitas Negeri Surabaya  Indonesia
(2) Educational Management, Universitas Negeri Surabaya  Indonesia
(3) Educational Management, Universitas Negeri Surabaya  Indonesia
(4) Educational Management, Universitas Negeri Surabaya  Indonesia

Corresponding Author


DOI : https://doi.org/10.24036/jbmp.v15i1.139172

Abstract


Smart-school initiatives are expected to improve educational services while supporting sustainable and efficient school management, yet the research landscape remains fragmented across technological, pedagogical, environmental, and leadership perspectives. This study maps the development and conceptual structure of smart-school scholarship published from 2010 to October 2025. Bibliographic records were retrieved from Scopus through title, abstract, and keyword searches. An initial 295 records were identified, and 261 English-language records within the defined period were retained for descriptive and network analyses. Publication growth, country and institutional productivity, document types, subject areas, and keyword co-occurrence were examined using Scopus analytics and VOSviewer 1.6.20. The findings show modest output during 2010–2018, rapid expansion from 2019, and a peak of 40 publications in 2023; the 2025 value is partial and should not be interpreted as a full-year decline. Malaysia was the most productive country, with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia as the leading affiliation. Articles and conference papers dominated the corpus, while computer science, social sciences, and engineering formed the principal disciplinary bases. Keyword mapping produced interconnected clusters concerning digital pedagogy, Internet of Things infrastructure, sustainability and energy efficiency, human-centered management, and artificial intelligence. The study concludes that smart-school research is moving from technology adoption toward integrated socio-technical governance. Sustainable implementation therefore requires digital leadership, teacher capability, responsible data use, efficient infrastructure, and collaboration among school and community stakeholders.


Keywords


smart schools; sustainability; management efficiency; bibliometric analysis; digital leadership

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