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<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-Q61Y5YWXL4"></script><script>window.dataLayer=window.dataLayer || [];function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}gtag('js',new Date());gtag('config','G-Q61Y5YWXL4');</script><title>ERIC - Education Resources Information Center</title><meta name="description" content="ERIC is an online library of education research and information, sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education."><meta name="citation_abstract" content="ERIC is an online library of education research and information, sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education."><link rel="shortcut icon" href="favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="css/eric.css?v=0.9" media="all"><link rel="image_src" href="img/icon_fbshare.png"><script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery-3.5.1.min.js"></script><script type="text/javascript" src="js/respond.min.js"></script><script type="text/javascript" src="js/eric.js?v=0.8"></script> <script type="text/javascript">$(function() {dser();$('#tab1b').click();});</script> </head> <body id="bdyMain"> <div id="main"> <div id="actionbar"><a href="?note">Notes</a><a href="?faq">FAQ</a><a href="?contact">Contact Us</a></div><div id="logo"><a href="?" id="aHome" title="ERIC Home"><img src="img/eric_results.png" id="imgLogo" alt="ERIC - Institute of Education Sciences" /></a></div> <div id="sbar"> <form id="f"> <div> <div id="tab1" class="sTab"><span>Collection</span></div> <div id="tab1b" class="sTab"><a href="#thesaurus">Thesaurus</a></div> <a id="atips" href="?advanced">Advanced<br />Search Tips</a> <input id="s" type="text" name="q" placeholder="Search education resources" /> <input type="submit" value="Search" /> </div> <div id="sopt"> <label><input type="checkbox" name="pr" /> Peer reviewed only</label> <label><input type="checkbox" name="ft" /> Full text available on ERIC</label> </div> </form> <form id="ft" style="display:none"> <div> <div id="tab2b" class="sTab"><a href="#collection">Collection</a></div> <div id="tab2" class="sTab"><span>Thesaurus</span></div> <a id="attips" href="?ti=all">Browse<br />Thesaurus</a> <input id="st" type="text" name="qt" placeholder="Search thesaurus descriptors" /> <input type="submit" value="Search" /> </div> <div id="soptt"> <label><input type="checkbox" name="ts" /> Include Synonyms</label> <label><input type="checkbox" name="td" /> Include Dead terms</label> </div> </form> </div> <div id="i"><div id="details" class="tsd"> <h2>Purpose and Scope</h2> The ERIC Thesaurus is a list of terms representing research topics in the field of education. Descriptors from the ERIC Thesaurus are assigned to every document in the ERIC digital library to describe its subject content. <p><br /></p> Terms in the ERIC Thesaurus represent the vocabulary used in the documents that comprise the ERIC digital library collection. Learn more about how the Thesaurus is updated in this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPj1N4mAX8UIjLMdzlnCLEhEsd-S1ndhX">archived webinar</a>. <p><br /></p> The ERIC Thesaurus contains a total of 11,929 terms. There are 4,578 descriptors and 7,219 synonyms. There are also 132 dead terms, which are no longer used as descriptors but remain in the Thesaurus to aid in searching older records. The ERIC Thesaurus was last updated in 2025. The updated Thesaurus includes 20 new descriptors, 34 new synonyms, and changes to 107 existing terms. For more information, view the <a href="/pdf/ERIC_2025_Thesaurus_Update.pdf">full list of updates</a> and <a href="/?download">download the updated file</a>. <h2>Browse Alphabetically</h2><div class="alphalist"><a href="?ti=0">#</a><a href="?ti=A">A</a> <a href="?ti=B">B</a> <a href="?ti=C">C</a> <a href="?ti=D">D</a> <a href="?ti=E">E</a> <a href="?ti=F">F</a> <a href="?ti=G">G</a> <a href="?ti=H">H</a> <a href="?ti=I">I</a> <a href="?ti=J">J</a> <a href="?ti=K">K</a> <a href="?ti=L">L</a> <a href="?ti=M">M</a> <a href="?ti=N">N</a> <a href="?ti=O">O</a> <a href="?ti=P">P</a> <a href="?ti=Q">Q</a> <a href="?ti=R">R</a> <a href="?ti=S">S</a> <a href="?ti=T">T</a> <a href="?ti=U">U</a> <a href="?ti=V">V</a> <a href="?ti=W">W</a> <a href="?ti=X">X</a> <a href="?ti=Y">Y</a> <a href="?ti=Z">Z</a></div><h2>Browse by Category</h2><div><div class="col1"><ul><li><a href="?ti=120">Individual Development and Characteristics</a></li><li><a href="?ti=310">Educational Process: Classroom Perspectives</a></li><li><a href="?ti=110">Learning and Perception</a></li><li><a href="?ti=220">Disabilities</a></li><li><a href="?ti=240">Counseling</a></li><li><a href="?ti=340">Educational Levels, Degrees, and Organizations</a></li><li><a href="?ti=400">Subjects of Instruction</a></li><li><a href="?ti=330">Educational Process: Societal Perspectives</a></li><li><a href="?ti=450">Language and Speech</a></li><li><a href="?ti=710">Information / Communications Systems</a></li><li><a href="?ti=320">Educational Process: School Perspectives</a></li><li><a href="?ti=350">Curriculum Organization</a></li><li><a href="?ti=360">Students, Teachers, School Personnel</a></li><li><a href="?ti=210">Health and Safety</a></li></ul></div><div class="col2"><ul><li><a href="?ti=620">Economics and Finance</a></li><li><a href="?ti=560">Peoples and Cultures</a></li><li><a href="?ti=820">Measurement</a></li><li><a href="?ti=830">Tests and Scales</a></li><li><a href="?ti=490">Science and Technology</a></li><li><a href="?ti=420">Arts</a></li><li><a href="?ti=810">Research and Theory</a></li><li><a href="?ti=610">Government and Politics</a></li><li><a href="?ti=530">Social Problems</a></li><li><a href="?ti=480">Mathematics</a></li><li><a href="?ti=230">Mental Health</a></li><li><a href="?ti=730">Publication / Document Types</a></li><li><a href="?ti=430">Humanities</a></li><li><a href="?ti=520">Social Processes and Structures</a></li></ul></div><div class="col3"><ul><li><a href="?ti=460">Reading</a></li><li><a href="?ti=510">Individual in Social Context</a></li><li><a href="?ti=720">Communications Media</a></li><li><a href="?ti=540">Bias and Equity</a></li><li><a href="?ti=650">Business, Commerce, and Industry</a></li><li><a href="?ti=630">Labor and Employment</a></li><li><a href="?ti=440">Languages</a></li><li><a href="?ti=410">Agriculture and Natural Resources</a></li><li><a href="?ti=550">Human Geography</a></li><li><a href="?ti=470">Physical Education and Recreation</a></li><li><a href="?ti=920">Facilities</a></li><li><a href="?ti=910">Equipment</a></li><li><a href="?ti=640">Occupations</a></li></ul></div></div><div style="clear:both"></div> <h2>Identifiers</h2> The ERIC identifiers are lists of standardized proper nouns representing assessments and surveys, locations, and laws, policies, and programs. The identifiers were last updated in 2025 with 15 new revised identifiers: 12 Assessment and Surveys identifiers and 3 Location identifiers. The current lists of identifiers are now available for browsing and searching: <a href="pdf/ERIC_Assessments_and_Surveys_Identifiers_2025.pdf" target="_blank">Assessments and Surveys</a>; <a href="pdf/ERIC_Location_Identifiers_2025.pdf" target="_blank">Location</a>; <a href="pdf/ERIC_Laws_Policies_and_Programs_2023.pdf" target="_blank">Laws, Policies, and Programs</a>. For more information on using the identifiers in your search, please see the infographic <a href="/pdf/ERIC_Identifiers.pdf" target="_blank">What are ERIC Identifiers?</a> and the video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBFUknHSqko" target="_blank">How to Use ERIC Identifiers</a>. <p><br /></p> </div></div> <div id="divFooter"><div id="ftrPadding"><div id="ftr"><div id="ftrSocial"> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SearchEduResources" id="facebook" style="padding-bottom:5px"><img src="img/icon_facebook.gif" alt="Facebook" width="16" height="16" border="0"></a> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ERICinfo" id="twitter"><img src="img/icon_twitter.gif" alt="Twitter" width="16" height="16" border="0"></a></div><div id="ftrLogos"><a href="http://www.ed.gov"><img src="img/logo_ed.gif" alt="Department of Education"></a><a href="http://ies.ed.gov"><img src="img/logo_ies.gif" alt="Institute of Education Statistics"></a></div><div id="centerLinks"><a href="?privacy">Privacy</a> | <a href="?copyright">Copyright</a> | <a href="?contact">Contact Us</a> | <a href="?selection">Selection Policy</a> | <a href="?api">API</a> | <a href="metrics">Metrics</a><div><a href="?journals">Journals</a> | <a href="?nonjournals">Non-Journals</a> | <a href="?download">Download</a> | <a href="submit">Submit</a> | <a href="?multimedia">Multimedia</a> | <a href="?widget">Widget</a></div></div></div><script id="_fed_an_ua_tag" language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="/js/Universal-Federated-Analytics-Min.js?pga4=55622235&agency=ED&subagency=ERIC"></script></div></div> </div> <script type="text/javascript">//<![CDATA[ if(self!=top) {top.location=self.location;} //]]></script> </body> </html>