Mapping inclusive physical education research in Morocco and the MENA region: A bibliometric analysis (1994-2025)

Abstract

Problem Statement : Inclusive physical education (IPE) has expanded internationally since the 1994 UNESCO Salamanca Statement, yet no bibliometric map exists for Morocco or the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, despite advanced legislative frameworks for disability inclusion. Approach : Scopus and Web of Science were searched in 2026 using a Boolean string combining inclusive and adapted physical education terms with disability-related terms, filtered to MENA-affiliated records alongside an unfiltered worldwide comparator for 1994-2025, with analyses in R (bibliometrix) and VOSviewer. Purpose : The purpose was to quantify MENA production relative to worldwide output, characterize its structure, and position Morocco within it. Results : The MENA-filtered search returned 19 documents against a worldwide corpus of 431 (4.4% share). The earliest MENA record dates to 2012, followed by a seven-year silence before sustained output began in 2020, peaking at 15.6% of world share in 2021. Saudi Arabia (10 documents) and Morocco (6) account for 84.2% of the corpus, led by one author (8 documents) and a Moroccan trio (6). International collaboration is limited to two disconnected bilateral ties (31.6%). Fourteen documents (73.7%) use quantitative designs. Saudi studies rely on validated Arabic instruments, a step largely absent in Morocco, whose sole contribution is the corpus’s only randomized controlled trial. Conclusions : MENA IPE research is sparse, narrow, and geographically concentrated, sustained by two teams and a shared ceiling of first-generation psychometrics. This analysis supplies the field’s first quantitative baseline and an actionable agenda anchored in cross-cultural instrument validation, mixed-methods diversification, and a dedicated intra-regional research network.