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Mapping Global Research on Free Preschool Education and Its Supporting Conditions: A CiteSpace-Based Bibliometric Analysis of the Web of Science Core Collection, 2005–2025

Author(s)

Jinlong Liang, Yutong Yang, Chanchan Ma

Affiliation(s)

College of Educational Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China

Abstract

Expanding access to free preschool education has become an important policy strategy for promoting educational equity and supporting high-quality early childhood development. Using CiteSpace 6.4.R1, this study conducts a bibliometric and visual analysis of 131 articles indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection from 2005 to 2025. The findings show that international research on free preschool education has evolved through three stages: a nascent stage (2005–2010), an uneven growth stage (2011–2017), and a rapid expansion stage (2018–2025). Collaboration networks among institutions and authors remain sparse, with network densities of 0.0185 and 0.0099, respectively, indicating a multi-centered but fragmented research landscape dominated by English-speaking countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Keyword clustering reveals four major themes: policy effectiveness and program evaluation; child development and academic outcomes; program quality, family involvement, and supportive conditions; and social equity and compensatory mechanisms for disadvantaged children. The field has undergone three interrelated shifts: from average treatment effects to heterogeneous effects, from black-box impact evaluation to mechanism-oriented analysis, and from academic outcomes to broader developmental conditions. The clustering quality indicators (Q = 0.5748, S = 0.8268) indicate a well-structured and internally consistent clustering solution. Overall, international research on free preschool education is moving toward a more comprehensive and equity-oriented direction.

Keywords

Free Preschool Education; Free Pre-Primary Education; Publicly Funded Preschool; Bibliometric Analysis; CiteSpace; Educational Equity

References

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