Trends Virtual Laboratory for Practical Learning in Vocational Education

Abstract

Using virtual laboratories for practical learning in vocational education has significantly increased in recent years. This study aims to analyse virtual laboratory research trends for practical learning in vocational education through bibliometric analysis by taking data from Scopus (intro/issue). The method used in this bibliometric journal article is the bibliometric method. This research step consists of (i) determining search keywords, (ii) collection of publication data, (iii) bibliometric data processing, (iv) bibliometric data mapping, and (v) data analysis. The search keywords used to collect data were "Virtual laboratory," "Vocational," and "Education." There are 31 articles indexed by Scopus from 2002 to 2023. From 2019 to 2023, research on virtual laboratories in vocational education has increased. This is because access to computer technology, the internet, and mobile devices is increasingly widespread, and a surge in technology use occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the bibliometric mapping analysis show there are 24 terms grouped into 3 clusters. The terms virtual laboratory and vocational education are related in research. Virtual laboratories help overcome problems in vocational education, especially for productive vocational subjects such as working on dangerous equipment.