STEM in early childhood education: A bibliometric analysis

Jiahong SU, Weipeng YANG

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: The technological age of the twenty-first century has witnessed an upsurge in the demand for STEM education. Early childhood STEM learning and teaching has sparked attention among researchers. 

Purpose: This study aims to provide a holistic review of current STEM research in Early Childhood Education (ECE). 

Sample: We conducted a bibliometric analysis of 129 articles on early STEM education published in educational journals via Web of Science. 

Design and methods: This study used VOSviewer to analyze and conduct a bibliometric analysis. Statistical analyses on publications included annual trends, grants, journals, publishers, research topic, publishing source, institutions, keywords, categories and classification, and researchers. 

Results: The review found that (1) The majority of early childhood STEM research was conducted in developed countries such as the United States, Turkey, and Australia. (2) Key STEM literature in ECE studies tended to fall into major clusters such as STEM education, Robotics, and Mindstorms. (3) STEM in ECE studies were frequently associated with psychology in ECE. 

Conclusion: The findings suggest a need for more multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary studies on STEM research in ECE and advocate for the inclusion of the STEM research in ECE from broader geographical contexts. Copyright © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Original languageEnglish
JournalResearch in Science & Technological Education
Early online dateApr 2023
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - Apr 2023

Citation

Su, J., & Yang, W. (2023). STEM in early childhood education: A bibliometric analysis. Research in Science & Technological Education. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/02635143.2023.2201673

Keywords

  • STEM education
  • Early Childhood Education (ECE)
  • Bibliometric analysis
  • Review of research

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