With the second quantum revolution and the growing need of a competent workforce in Quantum Information Science, formal instruction on contemporary physics topics such as quantum mechanics (QM) is a particularly important component of modern secondary science education. Additionally, a formal introduction to physics is incomplete without an exploration of the quantum realm and the findings of the first quantum revolution. Exposure to QM can radically alter an individual's view of the physical universe and can broadly engage secondary students. Exposure to QM in secondary schools has increased substantially in recent years yet is still an understudied area with a limited body of research on this topic. The aim of this paper is to analyze this body of research by bibliometric analysis, examining yearly output, citation index, author nationality, publishing venue, and keywords of relevant publications. The academic search engines SCOPUS and Web of Science were used to collect publications emphasizing the teaching and learning of QM at the secondary level. First, we present a quantitative analysis of the bibliometrics, followed by an assessment of publication trends in teaching and learning. Lastly, an analysis of research gaps and opportunities for further investigation is discussed.

Student exposure to modern physics topics (e.g., quantum mechanics, special relativity) is severely limited in k-12 education, but the inclusion of such topics in secondary physics curricula has gained momentum since the turn of the 21 st century. Secondary physics curricula in the U.S. predominantly focus on physics content established prior to the 20 th century, such as Newtonian mechanics, and rarely address modern topics like quantum physics. Even so, students are still frequently exposed to terms such as quantum physics through a variety of contexts prior to post-secondary education. An analysis of secondary student views of quantum physics may prove valuable to the research community and in the development and implementation of introductory quantum physics curricula. The aim of this study is to analyze secondary student perspectives of the term quantum physics. To do so, a group of secondary physics students were asked to complete a word-association test to establish a baseline of commonalities among student perspectives. The results revealed significant commonalities among student perspectives of quantum physics with the most common association being complexity. The results also revealed that students lack a relevant understanding of quantum physics principles prior to formal instruction and often view the topic as a more sophisticated version of classical physics.