Peer-reviewed article
Health Education in Early Childhood Education: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Anabel Ramos, Laura Fornons Casol ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This systematic review examined 21 scientific articles published between 2014 and 2024 on health education in early childhood education settings. The review found that health education in early childhood is important for developing healthy habits and supporting children's overall development and community well-being. The research identified several gaps in the existing literature, including limited use of mixed research methods, fragmented approaches to engaging different educational actors, and insufficient interdisciplinary collaboration.
Key points
- Health education in early childhood is fundamental for promoting healthy habits and comprehensive child development
- Scientific production on the topic has increased over the past decade
- The literature is dominated by quantitative research approaches
- There are gaps in mixed-method study designs
- Teacher training and health literacy are important for effective health education implementation
Limitations
This is a secondary analysis that reviews published research rather than collecting original data, so it cannot evaluate the actual effectiveness of health education interventions or provide direct evidence of outcomes in children. The review is limited to articles in Web of Science and does not assess the quality of the included studies or provide meta-analytic synthesis.
Abstract
Addressing Health Education (HE) in Early Childhood Education is essential for shaping future responsible citizens who are aware about the importance of caring for their health. The aim of the present article was to conduct a systematic review of the scientific literature on Health Education in the Early Childhood Education stage. Through an exhaustive analysis of 21 articles published in the internationally-renowned database Web of Science in a period of 10 years (2014–2024), the text is structured around three dimensions: article data and main areas and topics covered, pertinence and relevance of Health Education in Early Childhood Education, and lastly, the impact of Health Education in child development. The results show an increase in scientific production, although limitations persist, such as the predominance of quantitative approaches, gaps in mixed designs, a fragmented focus on educational actors, and the lack of interdisciplinary integration. It is concluded that HE in Early Childhood Education is fundamental for promoting healthy habits, for the comprehensive development of students, and community well-being, underlining the importance of interdisciplinary approaches, teachers’ training, and health literacy to guarantee its efficacy and sustainability.