Integrating sustainability into STEM education and career development: a scientometric and narrative review

Abstract

As global challenges intensify, integrating sustainability into STEM education and careers is urgent. We conducted a convergent mixed-methods review that combines scientometric and narrative approaches. Scientometric analyses help map the macro-level scope of the field—tracking publication trends, identifying dominant clusters, and pinpointing emerging areas. Narrative reviews offer complementary depth, revealing how specific research methods and theoretical frameworks shape our understanding of sustainability within STEM. The scientometric analysis encompassed 2721 publications from 1992 to February 2025, utilizing CiteSpace and VOSviewer for mapping. In addition, a narrative synthesis was conducted on 113 studies selected through title and abstract screening. Scientometric analysis shows a post-2010 surge in sustainability-focused STEM work, coalescing into four clusters: (1) education and technology integration, (2) human factors and institutional structures, (3) sustainability and policy, and (4) innovation and economic impact. Narrative findings identify three dominant methodological traditions (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed) and five recurrent theoretical lenses (SCCT, identity, SDT, ecological systems, and integrated models). Triangulation reveals three persistent gaps: (i) limited research in non-Western contexts, (ii) scarce longitudinal studies following learners into early careers, and (iii) weak integration of person-centred and structural theories. Together, the two strands provide a roadmap for context-sensitive, interdisciplinary, and longitudinal inquiry that can better equip the global STEM workforce to advance sustainability.