Aim <p>Happiness and wellbeing are increasingly recognized as essential components of effective educational environments. Understanding how these components are progressively addressed within educational contexts is crucial for informing evidence-based academic strategies. This study aimed to explore global publication trends, thematic evolution, and patterns of scholarly collaboration in research on happiness and wellbeing in the field of education.</p> Methods <p>A systematic search was performed within the Scopus database using predefined key strings. The search was filtered following PRISMA guidelines to identify the relevant documents. A total of 328 relevant articles published between 2005 and 2 July 2025 were identified and included in the final analysis. The articles were analyzed using VOSviewer, Biblioshiny, and Excel, examining publication trends, co-authorship, keyword co-occurrence, citation networks, and thematic evolutions.</p> Results <p>Findings&#xa0;reveal a substantial increase in publications, with keywords such as “resilience”, “mindfulness”, and “social-emotional learning” reflecting research priorities in fostering holistic learner development. The United States, United Kingdom, and Australia lead in productivity and citation impact, indicating strong global engagement, while collaboration patterns highlight emerging regional networks. The analysis underscores the growing recognition of happiness and wellbeing as integral to educational success, emphasizing the need for systematic integration into curricula and teacher support systems.</p> Conclusion <p>Overall, the study demonstrates that wellbeing interventions grounded in culturally responsive and equitable frameworks can meaningfully strengthen happiness in educational context, offering valuable insights to guide policy development, educational practices, and future research agendas.</p>