CHALLENGES OF EDTECH IMPLEMENTATION IN LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES: A BIBLIOMETRIC APPROACH

Abstract

The deployment of educational technologies (EdTech) in low- and middle-income countries constitutes one of the most significant contemporary challenges in global educational transformation. Despite growing recognition of its potential to democratize access to knowledge, implementation processes face deeply rooted structural, cultural, and technological limitations. This study seeks to answer the question: Does network analysis of terms allow the identification of challenges in EdTech implementation in low- and middle-income countries? Through a bibliometric co-occurrence network analysis of 1,191 conceptual terms defined by 548 authors, the results reveal four clusters: Cluster 1: Technology acceptance models and individual factors in EdTech adoption; Cluster 2: Health education and structural challenges in EdTech implementation within clinical and healthcare contexts; Cluster 3: Educational innovation, digital literacy, and technological planning in developing countries; and Cluster 4: Gamification, assessment, and competency development in emerging digital educational environments. These findings create new research gaps that require further exploration using advanced techniques such as factor analysis and structural equation modeling to transform the clusters into conceptual constructs