Purnamawati, Nuridayanti, Muhammad Akil, Akbar Iskandar, Muh. Riyaldi Pratama
Smart attendance systems have evolved from routine administrative tools into data-driven mechanisms that support monitoring, prediction, and institutional decision-making in educational environments. Recent technological developments have accelerated the adoption of artificial intelligence, facial recognition, deep learning, computer vision, and predictive analytics within attendance management systems. Despite these advancements, limited attention has been given to understanding how the transformation of attendance systems is interpreted from educational, ethical, and socio-technical perspectives. This study aims to examine the development, thematic evolution, and conceptual orientation of smart attendance system research through a bibliometric and science mapping approach. A total of 108 Scopus-indexed journal articles published between 2016 and 2025 were analyzed using VOSviewer and Biblioshiny to identify publication trends, dominant themes, influential authors, collaborative networks, and emerging research directions. The findings reveal a significant transition from RFID-based and manual attendance verification systems to AI-driven, automated attendance technologies. Research trends increasingly emphasize system efficiency, authentication accuracy, real-time monitoring, and automation. However, the literature remains predominantly technocentric, with limited discussion of privacy protection, informed consent, algorithmic fairness, student autonomy, and the implications of surveillance. This study identifies an “ethical silence” within the field, in which attendance is increasingly framed as a machine-verifiable construct rather than a pedagogical indicator of participation and engagement. The findings suggest that current research tends to prioritize technical optimization over human-centered educational values. Therefore, future studies should integrate educational technology, learning analytics, data ethics, and policy perspectives to ensure that smart attendance systems are designed as accountable, inclusive, and pedagogically meaningful tools. This study contributes theoretically by extending the discussion on educational datafication and, practically, by providing a comprehensive overview of the evolution and challenges of smart attendance technologies in contemporary education. © 2026, PT Mattawang Mediatama Solution. All rights reserved.
Department of Electronics Engineering Education, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Makassar, Indonesia; Information Technology Education, Universitas Teknologi Akba Makassar, Makassar, Indonesia; Department of Informatics, Universitas Teknologi Akba Makassar, Makassar, Indonesia
