Purpose This study aims to explore the bibliometric indicators of the previous research on education for sustainable development (ESD) and to synthesise the critical outcomes of the most cited publications in the context of the further education (FE) and skills sector. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-method approach is adopted involving both quantitative and qualitative methodology through a bibliometric analysis including performance, collaboration and network analyses on 768 articles on ESD and thematic content analysis using inductive coding on the most influential publications on ESD. Findings Descriptive results indicate the current state of previous ESD research globally in terms of journals, authorship and citations. The collaboration trends in ESD research reveal a Western dominant relationship spread across five continents. The intellectual structure of ESD research dominantly consists of decision-making patterns, problem-based learning, future-oriented education, ESD-based culture, student perspectives in ESD, the role of universities in ESD, ecopedagogy and ecophilosophy. Finally, the conceptual dynamics of the most influential articles are grouped as policy-based, curriculum-based and teacher training implications. Originality/value This study contributes to the improvement of ESD in the FE and skills sector by exploring the current state of the previous research on ESD, clarifying the collaboration trends in the studies on ESD, the intellectual structure of ESD research and the conceptual dynamics of the most influential research on ESD. The results of this research depict a picture of both existing and missing approaches in the previous ESD studies with respect to the FE and skills sector. © 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited
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