Peer-reviewed article
Global Trends in Early Childhood Education: A Bibliometric Analysis
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Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This bibliometric analysis examines scholarly research on Early Childhood Education by analyzing publications from the Scopus database. The study maps how research in this field has evolved since 1950, identifying main themes, influential authors, institutions and countries using network visualization software. The findings show steady growth in publications, particularly since the early 2000s, with 2025 marking the highest publication volume. However, collaboration among researchers in the field remains limited.
Key points
- Early Childhood Education research has been developing since 1950, with significant growth beginning in the early 2000s
- Publication activity reached its highest point in 2025
- Patterns of collaboration among researchers indicate that cooperation in this field is still relatively limited
- The analysis used VOSviewer software to visualize co-authorship networks, keyword linkages and citation relationships
- The study provides a structured reference for future scholars to support meta-analyses and systematic reviews
Limitations
This is a bibliometric analysis of published research rather than an evaluation of early childhood programs or interventions. It cannot tell us about the effectiveness of any specific early childhood education approaches or their impact on children's outcomes.
Abstract
This study aims to provide a comprehensive and centralized reference for educators and researchers involved in Early Childhood Education by examining global patterns of scholarly work in the field. The study focuses on evaluating how research in Early Childhood Education has evolved over time, identifying the main thematic areas explored by scholars, and highlighting the most influential contributors, including authors, institutions and countries. A bibliometric approach was applied to a large collection of publications related to Early Childhood Education retrieved from the Scopus database in November 2025. The analysis was supported by VOSviewer software, which was used to visualize co-authorship networks, keyword linkages and citation relationships. The findings show that Early Childhood Education research has been developing since 1950, with noticeable growth beginning in the early two thousand. Publication activity increased steadily, reaching its highest point in the year 2025. Although the volume of research has expanded over the decades, the patterns of collaboration among researchers indicate that cooperation in this field is still relatively limited. The insights gained from this bibliometric analysis serve as a meaningful reference for future scholars, offering a structured overview that can support evidence-based work such as meta-analyses, systematic reviews and other forms of scholarly inquiry in Early Childhood Education.