Analysis of Research Hotspots and Future Trends in Digitalization of Early Childhood Education in China

With the continuous advancement of the digitalization process in education, research on digitalization in the field of early childhood education has gradually become a research hotspot in the academic community. To comprehensively explore the current research status and development trends of digitalization in early childhood education in China, this paper uses 618 related documents included in China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) from 2004 to 2024 as the data source. Through the CiteSpace6.4.R1 visualization analysis tool, it constructs the publication volume trend chart, keyword co-occurrence chart, keyword clustering chart, keyword burst chart, and keyword time zone chart, aiming to provide in-depth analysis and references for the academic development in this field. The research results show that the research in this field is generally on the rise, with research hotspots mainly focusing on the application of information technology, digital literacy of early childhood teachers, artificial intelligence, and educational informatization. Based on the current research status, future researchers should deepen the theoretical research on digitalization in early childhood education, expand the application of digital technologies, promote the digital transformation of home-school co-education, and build a scientific evaluation system. At the same time, they should strive to explore localized implementation strategies that suit China's actual conditions, thereby promoting the overall improvement of preschool education quality.