Research trends related to play-centered curriculum for young children

Objectives This study aimed to identify research trends related to the play-centered curriculum for young children announced since 2018;when the 2019 Revised Nuri Curriculum was announced. Methods The data for analysis were extracted by searching academic journals and dissertations in the field of early childhood education published in Korea from 2018 to June 2024 in the RISS;focusing on the keyword ‘play-centered.’ The types and contents of the research were identified;and the frequency and percentage were analyzed according to the analysis criteria;namely;publication type;publication year;research subject;research method;research variable;research topic;and each subcategory. Results First;the number of research materials analyzed in the study was 249;including 124 academic journals and 125 dissertations. Second;the results of the analysis by publication year showed that 69 studies were published the most in 2022. Third;the number of studies targeting teachers was significantly higher in the overall comparison. Fourth;the results of the analysis by research method showed that qualitative studies were the most numerous;with 143 studies. Fifth;the results of the analysis of research variables showed that the variable ‘curriculum practice’ was the most common variable among the studies targeting teachers. Sixth;the results of the analysis of research topics showed that the topic ‘curriculum implementation’ was the most common among the studies targeting teachers. Conclusions This study presented research trends necessary for follow-up research on play-centered curriculum and setting new directions for curriculum implementation in academia and educational fields.