Mapping Ethical Issues in Digital Democracy and Educational Technology: A Bibliometric and Systematic Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58740/vocational.v3i1.819Keywords:
Bibliometric Analysis, Digital Democracy, Educational Technology, AI Ethics, CitizenshipAbstract
Ethical governance of digital democracy and educational technology has emerged as a critical yet fragmented field of scholarly inquiry, lacking an integrative conceptual framework that bridges democratic participation and digital learning. This study addresses this gap through a bibliometric and systematic literature review of 86 peer-reviewed articles indexed in Scopus, published between 2017 and 2026, selected following PRISMA guidelines through a structured screening of 312 initial records. Bibliometrix R-package and VOSviewer were employed to analyse publication trends, co-authorship networks, keyword co-occurrence, and bibliographic coupling. Results indicate a threefold increase in annual publications between 2020 and 2024, coinciding with the accelerated adoption of AI-driven civic platforms and digital learning environments during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Co-authorship analysis reveals strong collaborative networks concentrated in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany, while the Global South contributes fewer than 12% of total publications, indicating a significant geographical knowledge gap. Thematic clustering identifies six dominant research clusters digital divide, data privacy, AI ethics, digital democracy and citizenship, educational technology, and blockchain governance with algorithmic bias and decentralised governance emerging as underdeveloped yet rapidly growing frontiers. On the basis of these findings, this study proposes the Integrated Ethical Digital Citizenship (IEDC) framework, which conceptually links equitable digital access, algorithmic accountability, and critical citizenship education as mutually reinforcing conditions for democratic digital transformation. The findings call for geographically inclusive research agendas and evidence-based governance policies that address the structural inequalities shaping digital democratic participation worldwide.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Arisman Sabir, Karim Suryadi, Laspida Harti, Yanti Murni, Lelfita, Yuanyuan Wang
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