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Li International Journal of STEM Education (2021) 8:58
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-021-00316-w
EDITORIAL
Seven years ofdevelopment asbuilding
afoundation forthejournal’s leadership
inpromoting STEM education internationally
Yeping Li*
Abstract
The International Journal of STEM Education went through seven publication cycle years from August 2014
to July 2021. The journal’s performance has consistently reflected the rapid development in STEM education
research internationally. In this editorial, I share the journal’s performance since August 2020 and discuss possible
future developments.
Keywords: Identity, Impact, Leadership, Scholarship, SSCI journal, STEM education research
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Introduction
In previous editorials (Li, 2018a, 2019, 2020), I sum-
marized the journal’s performance in publications over
its first four-, five-, and then six-publication cycle (PC)
years since August 2014, respectively. e journal’s
steady growth and performance over the years reflected
the rapid development of STEM (science, technology,
engineering and mathematics) education research and
the journal’s international reach. Adding the seventh
year of development, the International Journal of STEM
Education (IJ-STEM) is well positioned to expand its
leading role in promoting STEM education research
internationally.
In this editorial, I will share the journal’s recent devel-
opment, especially in its seventh PC year from August
2020 to July 2021. In light of the journal’s on-going devel-
opment and performance, I will further discuss the needs
and benefits of elevating and expanding the exchange
of STEM education research globally. us, the follow-
ing sections are organized in two main parts, the first
about the journal’s progress and the second about pos-
sible aspects that can get more attention and effort for
elevating and broadening the sharing of STEM education
research. e editorial will again conclude with acknowl-
edgements to STEM education researchers and readers
around the world for the on-going strong support that
makes the journal’s accomplishment possible.
Multiple measures ofthejournal’s performance
Performance progress measured byindexing services
Because the IJ-STEM has been covered first in Elsevier’s
Scopus and then in Web of Science’s Social Sciences Cita-
tion Index (SSCI) by Clarivate Analytics, Table 1 sum-
marizes the journal’s performance progress over the past
3years as measured by these two indexing services.
e journal received its very first Scopus CiteScore
(CS) with its 2018 citation metrics. Over the past 3years,
the journal’s CS has consistently improved from 2.4, 3.0,
andto 5.6 with citation performances in 2018, 2019, and
2020, respectively. In 2020, the journal received its first
Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) of 2.058
and SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) of 0.847 based on cita-
tion metrics in 2019. With the calculation of weighted
citations, SJR provides a measure of the journal’s perfor-
mance comparable across different fields. e SJR value
of 0.847 (in 2019) placed the journal in Quartile 1 (Q1) in
the category of Education covered by Scopus. e jour-
nal’s performance in 2020 clearly improved with SNIP of
3.265 and SJR of 1.594. e journal is again being placed
Open Access
International Journal o
f
STEM Education
*Correspondence: yepingli@tamu.edu
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843‑4232, USA
Page 2 of 6
Li International Journal of STEM Education (2021) 8:58
in Q1 in the category of Education with the updated SJR
measure.
As the IJ-STEM was evaluated for coverage in SSCI
starting in 2019, the journal received its first impact fac-
tor (IF) of 1.850 based on its performance metrics in
2019. is IF value placed the journal at #100 out of 263
journals then-covered by SSCI in the category of “Educa-
tion & Educational Research,” #15 out of 41 journals in
the sub-category of “Scientific Disciplines.” And the jour-
nal was placed in Journal Impact Factor (JIF) Quartile
2 (Q2) among these 263 journals. e journal received
a new IF of 5.012 this year based on its performance
metrics in 2020. Consistent with the CS measure, the IF
shows the journal’s dramatic improvement in citation
performance from 2019 to 2020. e new IF now places
the journal at #16 out of 264 journals currently covered
by SSCI in the category of “Education & Educational
Research,” #4 out of 44 journals in the sub-category of
“Scientific Disciplines.” e IF has positioned the journal
in JIF Quartile 1 (Q1) among these 264 journals.
Both the measures from Elsevier’s Scopus and Clari-
vate’s Web of Science clearly indicate the steady
improvement of the journal’s publication citation perfor-
mance over the past several years. Specifically, the jour-
nal’s publication citation performance in the seventh PC
year provides a further confirmation about the journal’s
leadership in promoting STEM education research inter-
nationally as discussed before (Li, 2020).
To learn further about the journal’s publication cita-
tion performance, we can take a closer look at some of
the most-cited publications. For articles published in
2020, Table2 shows the top 10 most-cited publications
in descending order. Consistent with what we can learn
from the most-cited publications in 2019 (Li, 2020), the
vast majority of these 10 most-cited publications in 2020
are again about STEM rather than one of the component
disciplines of STEM. e result further confirms what we
learned before about the journal’s publication focus on
STEM education in previous years (Li etal., 2019).
Table 2 also shows that these most-cited articles in
2020 were contributed by scholars not only from the
United States, but also several other countries/regions
(i.e., Hong Kong, Japan, mainland China, Switzerland,
and Taiwan). In contrast to all top 10 most-cited arti-
cles published in 2019 thatwere contributed by scholars
only from the United States (Li, 2020), Table2 presents
an interesting new development that we hoped to see (Li,
2020; Li etal., 2019). ese highly cited publications con-
tributed by researchers from diverse countries/regions
suggest not only some exciting development in author-
ship in STEM education research internationally, but also
a growing acknowledgement to the value of diverse per-
spectives and approaches in STEM education research
contributed by scholars around the world. Indeed, the
journal has become a gathering place for international
Table 1 Summary of the journal’s performance measured by
indexing services
Sources: scopus.com website and Clarivate’s journal citation reports
*The value was reported in 2019 using the previous formula, and would be 2.2 if
using thecurrent new formula
2020 2019 2018
Scopus CiteScore 5.6 3.0 2.4*
SNIP 3.265 2.058
SJR 1.594 (Q1) 0.847 (Q1)
(2 years) Impact Factor 5.012 (Q1) 1.850 (Q2)
Table 2 Top 10 most‑cited articles published in 2020*
*Based on citation counts that were retrieved from Springer Nature Insights/Dimensions in early Oct, 2021
**Country/region refers to where the corresponding author’s research organization or institution was located at the time of publication
Title Author(s) Country/Region**
Research and trends in STEM education: a systematic review of journal publications Y. Li et al. U.S.A
Evidence of STEM enactment effectiveness in Asian student learning outcomes B. Wahono et al. Taiwan
Conceptual framework of STEM based on Japanese subject principles C. Yata et al. Japan
Increasing high school teachers self‑efficacy for integrated STEM instruction through a collaborative com‑
munity of practice T. R. Kelley et al. U.S.A
Rubrics to assess critical thinking and information processing in undergraduate STEM courses G. Reynders et al. U.S.A
Fostering computational thinking through educational robotics: a model for creative computational problem
solving M. Chevalier et al. Switzerland
Integrating science and engineering practices: outcomes from a collaborative professional development B. R. Brand U.S.A
Research and trends in STEM education: a systematic analysis of publicly funded projects Y. Li et al. U.S.A
Reviewing assessment of student learning in interdisciplinary STEM education X. Gao et al. China
Boundary crossing pedagogy in STEM education A. Leung Hong Kong
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Li International Journal of STEM Education (2021) 8:58
researchers and readers in STEM education more than
ever before (Li, 2018a).
Performance progress measured interms ofthenumber
ofpublications anddownloads
Figure1 shows the journal’s growth in terms of the num-
ber of articles published in each cycle year from August
2014 to July 2021. e IJ-STEM published a total of 71
articles (including research articles, reviews, commen-
taries, etc.) in its seventh PC year (August 2020 to July
2021). Viewing across the past seven PC years, it is clear
that the journal has made further progress in terms of the
number of published articles. e journal is likely get-
ting to a position of receiving and publishing more high-
quality manuscripts as the next step with the on-going
strong support from researchers in STEM education
internationally.
In addition to the increasing number of article publi-
cations, the journal’s performance can be examined in
terms of the number of article accesses. Figure2 shows
the total number of times that the journal publications
were accessed by year. It is clear that the journal publica-
tions continued to attract many more views and down-
loads in 2020, with a total of 656,555 accesses, which is
about a76% increase, or anet of282,709 more accesses
than the373,846 accesses in 2019.
Although we do not have the access information yet
for the year of 2021, we can still get a glimpse of publica-
tion accesses based on recent months. Figure3 shows the
total number of times journal publications were accessed
in the first 9 months of 2019, 2020, and 2021, respec-
tively. It presents a clear trend of dramatically increased
accesses over the years, a pattern consistent with what
we can find from Fig.2. It is also interesting to note that
the number of publication accesses (822,862) in the first 9
months of 2021 is already more than the number of pub-
lication accesses (656,555) in the entire year of 2020. e
steady increasing trend provides a clear indication about
the journal’s popularity that benefits from its high-quality
publications and its leading role in promoting STEM
education globally.
To further examine journal publication accesses, we
can take a closer look at some most-accessed articles.
Table3 shows the top 10 most-accessed articles in 2020
in descending order. Different from what we noticed
about the top 10 most-accessed lists in previous years (Li
etal., 2019), the top 10 list in 2020 has dramatic overlap
with the top 10 list in 2019 (Li, 2020). In fact, only two
new articles joined the top 10 most-accessed article list
in 2020. ey are (1) the article of “Research and trends
in STEM education: a systematic review of journal pub-
lications” (Li et al., 2020) and (2) the article of “Prob-
lematizing teaching and learning mathematics as ‘given’
in STEM education” (Li & Schoenfeld, 2019). e other
eight articles were also on the list of top 10 most-accessed
articles in 2019. e result indicates that international
readers may search for specific types of topics and publi-
cations in STEM education research, and the list suggests
24
21 22
51 51
55
71
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
PC-1 PC-2 PC-3 PC-4 PC-5 PC-6 PC-7
Fig. 1 Number of articles by publication cycle year
6,669
55,698 54,883
119,095
217,873
373,846
656,555
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Fig. 2 Number of accesses* by calendar year (Source: Springer).
*Accesses are defined as the number of times full text or PDF
versions of articles are accessed directly from the journal website
and SpringerLink. Downloads are defined as HTML, LookInside, PDF,
and Epub clicks. Please note that accesses do not include article
downloads from mirror databases, such as PubMed Central
257,112
423,285
822,862
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
900,000
2019_1-9 2020_1-9 2021_1-9
Fig. 3 Number of accesses* in the first 9 months of 2019, 2020, and
2021 (Source: Springer)
Page 4 of 6
Li International Journal of STEM Education (2021) 8:58
two possible topic areas: (1) issues related to STEM
teachers and (2) general conceptions and reviews about
STEM education.
Across Tables2 and 3, we can find that only the article
by Li etal. (2020) appeared in both the top 10 most-cited
list and the top 10 most-accessed list. Although this arti-
cle is published as an editorial, it is a systematic review of
journals’ publication trends in STEM education research.
is article’s performance in access and citation met-
rics suggests a topic area that is likely sought after in the
international research community of STEM education.
Checking further about the topics covered by these 10
most-accessed articles, it is clear that the vast majority of
these 10 most-accessed articles are about STEM, rather
than an individual STEM discipline. e topic coverage
is generally consistent with the top 10 most-cited list
(Table 2). e result suggests that the journal has been
valued for its leadership role in sharing STEM education
research.
Different from what is noted about the top 10 most-
cited list above, however, the majority of the most-
accessed publications in 2020 (eight out of 10) were
contributed by scholars in the United States. ere are
only two publications in the most-accessed article list
contributed by scholars from two other countries (i.e.,
Australia and Canada). Based on the change in article
authorship with the top 10 most-cited list (Table2), it is
reasonable to expect possible changes to the top 10 most-
accessed list in the future.
Performance progress measured interms ofreadership
development
Table4 shows the top five countries/regions that accessed
the journal’s publications by year. It shows the journal’s
international reach as well as some shifts in access by
country over the years. Overall, the United States stays
at the top with the most frequent access to the journal,
followed by several countries in Asia, such as thePhil-
ippines, India, and Indonesia. ere are some other
countries thatjoined the top five list from time to time,
including Australia, Brazil, and the UK. e international
reach of the journal’s readership presents a pattern that
has relatively stabilized over the past several years.
If examining these accesses in terms of continents,
Table5 shows that Asia always stays at the top since 2017,
followed typically by the Americas, Europe, Oceania,
and Africa. It presents a consistent pattern over the past
several years. e result suggests not only the journal’s
Table 3 Top 10 most‑accessed articles in 2020
*Country/region refers to where the corresponding author’s research organization or institution was located at the time of publication
Title (year of publication) Author(s) Country*
Teachers’ roles and identities in student‑centered classrooms (2018) L. S. Keiler U.S.A
A conceptual framework for integrated STEM education (2016) T. R. Kelley et al. U.S.A
Teachers’ perception of STEM integration and education: a systematic literature review (2019) K. C. Margot et al. U.S.A
Multiple‑true–false questions reveal more thoroughly the complexity of student thinking than multiple‑choice
questions: a Bayesian item response model comparison (2019) C. E. Brassil et al. U.S.A
Research and trends in STEM education: a systematic review of journal publications (2020) Y. Li et al. U.S.A
A study of the correlation between STEM career knowledge, mathematics self‑efficacy, career interests, and
career activities on the likelihood of pursuing a STEM career among middle school students (2018) K. A. Blotnicky et al. Canada
Problematizing teaching and learning mathematics as “given” in STEM education (2019) Y. Li & A. H. Schoenfeld U.S.A
Students’ perceptions of STEM learning after participating in a summer informal learning experience (2018) T. Roberts et al. U.S.A
STEM education K‑12: perspectives on integration (2016) L. D. English Australia
Making sense of “STEM education” in K‑12 contexts (2018) T. D. Holmlund et al. U.S.A
Table 4 Top five countries that accessed the journal’s publications by calendar year
Source: Google analytics
Rank 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
1U.S U.S India U.S U.S U.S
2 Philippines Philippines U.S Philippines Indonesia Indonesia
3 India Indonesia Brazil Indonesia Philippines Turkey
4U.K India Philippines India India U.K
5 Indonesia Australia Indonesia Australia Thailand Hong Kong
Page 5 of 6
Li International Journal of STEM Education (2021) 8:58
international reach, but also possible variations in the
extent of STEM education research activities across dif-
ferent continents.
Building uponthejournal’s 7years ofdevelopment
toelevate andexpand thesharing ofSTEM
education research aroundtheworld
e seventh PC year presents another year of stellar per-
formance for the IJ-STEM. e journal’s on-going strong
growth over the years reflects the rapid development in
STEM education research, as well as a recognition of
the journal’s emerging leadership in promoting STEM
education research internationally. At the same time,
we know that these journal performance measures (e.g.,
the number of publications, accesses, and citations) can
change (up and down)from time to time after reaching a
certain level. us, it would be more important to think
about what the journal may do to promote STEM educa-
tion research than to pay close attention to specific meas-
ures in the future. Here I would like to share two aspects,
by building upon the journal’s leadership, to elevate and
expand the sharing of STEM education research around
the world.
e first aspect is about possible ways of elevating the
sharing of STEM education research. As discussed in
previous editorials (Li, 2020; Li etal., 2020), the IJ-STEM
has had great performance in attracting and publishing
STEM education articles since the journal’s inception in
2014. To further the identity formation of STEM educa-
tion, it is important to promote scholarship development
in identifying and studying some fundamental ques-
tions and issues in STEM education (Li, 2020). Related
research efforts and discussions may be presented as
research articles, research reviews, or commentaries.
e IJ-STEM is well positioned to welcome, support,
and promote the sharing of such scholarly work. Moreo-
ver, collective efforts are also welcomed for international
researchers to work together on important topics to pro-
pose and publish special issues. e IJ-STEM published
several special issues before, which can serve as possible
examples for interested scholars about the format and
structure.
e second aspect is about possible ways of expanding
the sharing of STEM education research internationally.
If looking at the IJ-STEM by itself, one way of expanding
the sharing of STEM education research is to increase
the number of article publications. As discussed above,
the IJ-STEM is about ready in receiving and publish-
ing more high-quality manuscripts as the next step. At
the same time, it is important to realize that every jour-
nal has its own special features and limitations. Inter-
national researchers are also encouraged to check some
other viable journals and publication outlets. For exam-
ple, Springer has another journal (Journal for STEM Edu-
cation Research (J-STEM), https:// www. sprin ger. com/
journ al/ 41979) with more emphasis on interdisciplinary
research in STEM education (Li, 2018b). Differences
between these two journals in STEM education were
discussed in a previous editorial (Li, 2018a), mainly in
(1) the modes of publication (Open Access vs. subscrip-
tion-based) and (2) their content foci (multidisciplinary
vs. interdisciplinary). Researchers may also think about
book publications in STEM education. Springer has a
book series specifically on STEM education (Advances
in STEM Education, https:// www. sprin ger. com/ series/
13546). Interested researchers can learn more about the
series from some recent book publications. For exam-
ple, one recent published book (Integrated Approaches
to STEM Education, Anderson & Li, 2020) has been
well accessed with more than 25,000 chapter downloads
in SpringerLink alone in less than 1 year. Interested
researchers and readers can also find more information
from a recent review of the book (see Wilson, 2021). In
addition to Springer’s publication portfolio in STEM edu-
cation, a recent publication review revealed many other
journals available that welcome manuscript contribu-
tions on STEM education (Li etal., 2020). International
researchers are encouraged to explore different publica-
tion options and outlets to share scholarly work in STEM
education. It is everyone’s participation and contribution,
together with a supportive publication environment with
Table 5 Rank of five continents that accessed the journal’s publications by calendar year
Source: Google analytics
Rank 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
1 Asia Asia Asia Asia Americas Americas
2 Americas Americas Americas Americas Asia Asia
3 Europe Europe Europe Europe Europe Europe
4 Oceania Oceania Oceania Africa Oceania Oceania
5 Africa Africa Africa Oceania Africa Africa
Page 6 of 6
Li International Journal of STEM Education (2021) 8:58
diverse options, that we can expand the sharing of STEM
education research internationally.
Last but not least, I want to take this opportunity again
to thank all contributors, reviewers, the journal’s edito-
rial board members, staff members at SpringerOpen, and
readers for the tremendous and on-going support for the
journal over the past 7years. e journal’s accomplish-
ment so far is not a small feat, and helps build a foun-
dation for the journal’s leadership in promoting STEM
education research as the next step. To further interna-
tional efforts of establishing STEM education as a dis-
tinct field, it is my hope that this journal, together with
other journals and publication outlets, can provide a
distinguished platform for all researchers to elevate and
expand the sharing of STEM education research around
the world.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Marius Jung, Jill Ritchie, and other staff at
SpringerOpen for providing relevant data and valuable feedback on an earlier
version of this editorial. Thanks also go to the journal’s editorial board mem‑
bers for their valuable feedback to improve this editorial.
Author contributions
This work was conducted by a sole author. The author read and approved the
final manuscript.
Funding
Not applicable.
Availability of data and materials
The data and materials used and analyzed for the editorial were provided by
SpringerOpen or were these articles published in this journal. Journal article
information is publicly available at the journal’s website (https:// steme ducat
ionjo urnal. sprin gerop en. com).
Declarations
Competing interests
Not applicable, as this is a single authored article.
Received: 15 November 2021 Accepted: 19 November 2021
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