Bibliographic review of community environmental education with Latin American rural youth in the 21st Century

Abstract

The bibliometric analysis carried out on community environmental education (CEC) and the participation of rural youth in Latin America in the 21st century from an intercultural perspective reveals significant trends in scientific production. Since 2017, there has been a notable increase in research on youth environmental learning, highlighting the defense of territorial rights and the promotion of sustainable practices. This growing interest reflects the relevance of youth as key actors in socio-environmental justice. Since 2017, there has been a notable increase in research on youth environmental learning, highlighting the defense of territorial rights and the promotion of sustainable practices. This growing interest reflects the relevance of youth as key actors in socio-environmental justice. The study identified 53 scientific publications, out of 203 articles initially selected. These publications were analyzed using the VOSviewer software, which allowed 790 co-occurrences of terms and 248 authorships to be mapped. Three main thematic groupings were observed: Community environmental education, Social and environmental justice, and Educational practices for sustainability. From 2020 onwards, topics such as extractivism, gender, and identity construction became more relevant. The analysis also revealed a trend towards publication in publishers from the United Kingdom and the United States, with Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis LTD, and Relx-Elsevier leading the way. This poses challenges related to the accessibility and appropriation of knowledge, since local knowledge can be reinterpreted under foreign frameworks. Although Colombia shows considerable production, it is dispersed among various publishers, which indicates a need to consolidate its own publishing spaces in the region to strengthen the dissemination of Latin American academic knowledge.