STEM in early childhood education: A bibliometric analysis

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.