Brain-based learning in design and visual arts education: a bibliometric assessment of Scopus indexed literature

Background: This study aims to critically review, quantify, and assess research outcomes on brain-based learning with an evidence-based study on Scopus indexed literature, with a focus to understand the evolution structure and growth, detect trends, subject development, and most importantly, identify the gaps in the published body of literature that relates brain-based learning to design and visual arts education. Methods: Various scientometric tools were used to map, visualize, and analyze 186 research publications, indexed in Scopus in a twenty-year timespan ‘2001-2021’. Annual publication trends, relevant sources, prolific authors, authorship patterns, productive organizations and countries, funding agencies, keyword co-occurrence analysis, and thematic evolution mapping on brain-based learning publications were examined in this study. Results: Despite the significance to apply brain-based learning strategies in design and visual arts education to boost students’ knowledge and creative skills, the findings show a decline in quantities and growth patterns in brain-based learning research directed towards design disciplines in the past twenty years. Among the identified (186) documents published in (128) sources, with (1013) citations, the study detected only (57) research (30%) that were related to ‘design education,’ including those focusing on ‘instructional design, ‘and ‘syllabus design’ whereas only (3) articles were in ‘design and visual arts’ disciplines. Conclusion: These rather small numbers reflect the big gap in the current body of literature that associates brain-based learning with creativity-based disciplines, specifically in design and visual arts education. This infers the necessity to direct the attention of academics, researchers, and educationalists in the fields of design and arts towards brain-based learning applications, research and pedagogy.