The use of podcasts in higher education (2018-2022): a systematic review

Podcasts produce profound changes in the traditional teaching-learning process worldwide. In recent years there has been an increasing interest in implementing podcasts as learning aids in all phases of education and educational settings. While there is a growing interest in the use of podcasts in primary and secondary levels, its application in higher education is still an emerging trend. This paper aims to examine the prevalence and trend of the use of podcasts in higher education between 2018-2022. Another aim is to assess the range and quality of the research on the use of podcasts in higher educational settings. For this study, a comprehensive literature search was undertaken to identify peer-reviewed papers. This study reports findings from a systematic review based on a total of seventeen articles published in international peer- reviewed journals from 2018-2022, evaluating the use of podcasts as pedagogical tools that support any subject learning in higher educational settings. The main findings from this review provide the current state of research on podcasts in higher education. Our analysis of five years of publication shows that podcast is a relatively new but rapidly growing field of academic endeavour to support the teaching-learning process in higher educational institutions. This review’s results highlighted the rise of research across the humanities and social sciences spectrum, especially in linguistics subfields. Future insights are identified and outlined based on the literature reviewed and avenues for further research in the use of podcasts for higher educational settings