Analysis of Research Trends in Pedagogical Documentation Related to Young Children

Objectives This study aims to analyze research trends in pedagogical documentation related to young children and suggest future research directions. Methods Keywords such as “young children documentation,” “infants toddler documentation,” and “pedagogical documentation” were used to collect research papers from RISS, KCI, DBpia, Scholar, KISS, and earticle between January 19 and 31, 2025. After reviewing titles, abstracts, and full texts, 59 papers were selected for analysis. The selected studies were analyzed based on research period, subjects, methodology, and themes. Results The analysis revealed that studies on pedagogical documentation have been continuously conducted since 1999, with a significant increase in the last five years (2020-2024), during which two-thirds of the total papers were published. Most studies used qualitative methods, while literature reviews remained consistent across all periods. Research subjects focused primarily on young children, particularly early childhood teachers. Studies on infants and toddlers were relatively few but increased in the last five years. Recently, quantitative and mixed-method studies have emerged, contributing to methodological diversification. The most common research theme was improving documentation practices, followed by revisiting documentation and exploring its meaning. Studies on documentation perceptions and trends appeared only in the last five years, indicating a broadening of research topics. Conclusions Research on pedagogical documentation has expanded in methodology, subjects, and themes over the past five years. Based on these findings, this study discusses future directions for pedagogical documentation research.