Post - Pandemic Inequities in Self - Confidence Research Dwi Lintang Kristy Leno, Isma Widiaty
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
Abstract
Self-confidence constitutes a fundamental psychological construct in primary education, yet global research production reveals profound systemic inequities that undermine universal educational goals. This bibliometric analysis of 177 publications (1974-2025) from Scopus database exposes how post-pandemic research acceleration paradoxically highlighted geographical disparities and methodological limitations in self-confidence studies. While publications increased 1000% between 2017-2022, Africa contributes only 1.7% of research despite hosting 40% of global primary school students. Europe dominates with 45.8% of publications, while international collaboration remains limited to 10.7%. Methodological analysis reveals over-reliance on correlational designs (52.5%) with insufficient longitudinal studies (8.5%) and experimental approaches (15.8%). Turkey emerges as leading contributor (13.6%), followed by UK (11.3%) and Australia (6.2%), while traditional research powerhouses show limited engagement. These findings expose critical research colonialism patterns that perpetuate Western-centric frameworks while marginalizing majority world perspectives. The study calls for urgent systemic reform through international collaboration frameworks, methodological diversification, and equitable research capacity building to achieve truly inclusive educational psychology research that serves global student populations.
Keywords: bibliometrics, self-confidence, educational equity, research colonialism, methodological diversity
