Education and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Comparative Bibliometric Analysis of SDG 3 and SDG 13 Research Outputs from the Global North and Global South

This study investigates the integration of education within global research at the convergence of Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and Sustainable Development Goal 13 (Climate Action), focusing on thematic evolution, collaboration patterns, and disparities between knowledge systems of the Global North and Global South. Methodology a thorough bibliometric study was performed utilizing 1,625 publications indexed in Scopus from 2015 to 2025. In accordance with PRISMA requirements, VOS viewer was utilized to delineate co-authorship, institutional collaboration, keyword co-occurrence, and citation networks, with a specific emphasis on education as a pervasive analytical framework. The results indicate a disjointed incorporation of education in research related to SDG 3 through SDG 13, a significant concentration of authorship and institutional authority, and a marked predominance of the Global North. Climate-health knowledge is structured into concurrent methodological, applied, and policy-oriented areas, with insufficient cross-institutional collaboration hindering equitable educational capacity development. The study influences education policy, curriculum management, and leadership practices by pinpointing deficiencies in the dissemination of climate-health knowledge. It facilitates evidence-based curricular integration, bolstered research supervision, and inter-university collaborations to improve climate literacy, health literacy, and educational capacity linked with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Novelty this study enhances current bibliometric analyses by investigating the representation of educational dimensions in research on SDG 3 and SDG 13, providing insights into the influence of education on the development of climate-health knowledge systems and SDG-focused learning and leadership.