Applications of blockchain in government education sector: a comprehensive review and future research potentials

Purpose With the time and increase in usage of information technology (IT), blockchain technology is gaining immense attention from researchers, academicians, and practitioners because of its distinctive features such as transference, security and data reliability. The purpose of this study is to endow with a systematic review of literature on blockchain in context to the government education sector in terms of its usage, benefits, obstacles and practical implementation in future areas in education. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a bibliometric visualization tool to classify data in yearly publications, highly cited journals, prominent authors, leading publications in countries and institutions and highly cited papers – the data was extracted from the SCOPUS database by using relevant keywords. Thus, the following research questions were developed: How has blockchain technology been used in the government educational sector? What are the benefits examined in the field of education? What were the problems/obstacles faced using the technology in a government education structure? Findings The findings identify and provide a comprehensive review of the technique regarding the present research stream in terms of highest publication, author, journal, subject-wise and relevance of the technology in government education structure. Thus, the future research potential of the technology in the education sector is much more as it is in the initiation stage. A lot of opportunities and benefits need to be extracted at large. Research limitations/implications The present findings of the study provide a base work for government education institutions, policy developers and researchers to investigate other areas where the technology can be implemented. Finally, more technology applications will develop strategies for proper data management and cost-effective decisions. Originality/value This study explains the relevance of technology in education through bibliometric visualization. The study adopted the review and significance of blockchain technology in the government education sector by identifying its benefits, current scenario, application and future research potential areas.