The Intellectual Structure of Early Childhood Education Research: A Bibliometric Study Based on Scopus Database
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study aims to map the intellectual structure of early childhood education research through a bibliometric analysis of publications indexed in the Scopus. The data were collected using relevant keywords such as “early childhood education,” “preschool education,” and “early learning,” within a specified time frame. The bibliographic data were analyzed using VOSviewer to examine co-authorship networks, keyword co-occurrence patterns, citation structures, and the temporal evolution of research themes. The results reveal that early childhood education research is characterized by three major interconnected clusters: educational practices, child development and health, and epidemiological or longitudinal studies. The findings also indicate a clear shift in research focus over time, from health-oriented and developmental perspectives toward more education-centered themes such as teaching, preschool systems, and early learning environments. Density analysis further highlights core research areas alongside emerging topics, including mental health and gender, which remain relatively underexplored. This study contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive and systematic overview of the knowledge structure and development of early childhood education research, offering valuable insights for researchers, educators, and policymakers in identifying research gaps and future directions.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
[1] Y. Ydo, “Building stronger foundations for learning: The key for effective curriculum implementation and lifelong learning,” Prospects, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 1–5, 2022.
[2] C. T. Ramey and S. L. Ramey, “Early childhood education that promotes lifelong learning, health, and social well-being: The Abecedarian Project and its replications,” 2023.
[3] M. R. Jalongo, “The effects of COVID-19 on early childhood education and care: Research and resources for children, families, teachers, and teacher educators,” Early Child. Educ. J., vol. 49, no. 5, pp. 763–774, 2021.
[4] Y. Liu, “Paradigmatic compatibility matters: A critical review of qualitative-quantitative debate in mixed methods research,” Sage Open, vol. 12, no. 1, p. 21582440221079920, 2022.
[5] M. M. H. Emon, “Research approach: A comparative analysis of quantitative and qualitative methodologies in social science research,” 2024.
[6] P. N. Baird et al., “Myopia,” Nat. Rev. Dis. Prim., vol. 6, no. 1, p. 99, 2020.
[7] R. H. Bitsko, “Mental health surveillance among children—United States, 2013–2019,” MMWR Suppl., vol. 71, 2022.
[8] S. Cunningham, Causal inference: The mixtape. Yale university press, 2021.
[9] C. G. Victora, P. Christian, L. P. Vidaletti, G. Gatica-Domínguez, P. Menon, and R. E. Black, “Revisiting maternal and child undernutrition in low-income and middle-income countries: variable progress towards an unfinished agenda,” Lancet, vol. 397, no. 10282, pp. 1388–1399, 2021.
[10] R. Chetty, N. Hendren, M. R. Jones, and S. R. Porter, “Race and economic opportunity in the United States: An intergenerational perspective,” Q. J. Econ., vol. 135, no. 2, pp. 711–783, 2020.
[11] M. Safaei, E. A. Sundararajan, M. Driss, W. Boulila, and A. Shapi’i, “A systematic literature review on obesity: Understanding the causes & consequences of obesity and reviewing various machine learning approaches used to predict obesity,” Comput. Biol. Med., vol. 136, p. 104754, 2021.
[12] P. H. Lipkin et al., “Promoting optimal development: identifying infants and young children with developmental disorders through developmental surveillance and screening,” Pediatrics, vol. 145, no. 1, 2020.
[13] C. Dong, S. Cao, and H. Li, “Young children’s online learning during COVID-19 pandemic: Chinese parents’ beliefs and attitudes,” Child. Youth Serv. Rev., vol. 118, p. 105440, 2020.
[14] N. Tinanoff et al., “Early childhood caries epidemiology, aetiology, risk assessment, societal burden, management, education, and policy: Global perspective,” Int. J. Paediatr. Dent., vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 238–248, 2019.
[15] O. García and J. A. Kleifgen, “Translanguaging and literacies,” Read. Res. Q., vol. 55, no. 4, pp. 553–571, 2020.