Title: Strategies, applications and research issues of mobile learning in K-12 education: a systematic review of a decade of journal publications

Authors: Chih-Hsien Hsu; Tian-Wei Sheu; Yi-Chun Lu

Addresses: Graduate Institute of Educational Information and Measurement, National Taichung University of Education, Taiwan ' Graduate Institute of Educational Information and Measurement, National Taichung University of Education, Taiwan ' Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan; Empower Vocational Education Research Center, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei City, Taiwan

Abstract: This article reviewed studies related to mobile technology-supported K-12 education in SSCI journals from 2014 to 2023. It highlighted Taiwan, the USA, and China as leading contributors, with a focus on science, social studies, language, and math. The research indicated a growing interest in students' learning behaviours and a shift towards mixed research methods, especially from 2020-2023. The use of tablet computers has gradually increased in recent years. The research sample groups were dominated by elementary school students. The main methods of mobile learning strategies were guided learning, contextual mobile learning, and game-based learning, which play an important role in improving students' learning effectiveness, engagement, and motivation. Moreover, the analysis also showed that most of the studies tended to combine more than two strategies. In summary, relevant conclusions and recommendations for mobile learning in K-12 education were presented for the reference of researchers, teachers and policy makers.

Keywords: literature review; research trend analysis; mobile learning; K-12 education.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMLO.2025.145332

International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation, 2025 Vol.19 No.2, pp.215 - 237

Received: 17 Mar 2024
Accepted: 11 Apr 2024
Published online: 31 Mar 2025 *

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