키워드 네트워크 분석을 활용한 열린어린이집 관련 연구동향 분석

Analysis of Research Trends Related to Open-Childcare Centers Using Keyword Network Analysis

This study examined research trends related to “Open childcare center,” a system introduced in Korea in 2015. A total of 42 studies on Open childcare center, published in KCI journals and graduate school dissertations from 2015 to July 2024, were analyzed through a general trend analysis. Keyword frequency and network analyses were conducted using keyword data extracted and refined from the Korean abstracts of 39 studies, utilizing Excel2019, TEXTOM24, and Ucinet6. First, 42 studies on Open childcare center were published between 2016 and 2022. Among them, 26 focused on a single group, such as teachers, directors, or parents, and 37 were quantitative studies. Second, regarding keyword frequency, the most frequently appearing terms were “teacher”, “parents”, “awareness”, “parent involvement”, and “childcare center”. The three most common co-occurring keyword sets were “teacher-parent-awareness”, “childcare-teacher-awareness”, “director-teacher-parent”, and “awareness-demand-difference”. Third, keyword network analysis of the top 50 keywords showed that the most central terms (degree centrality) were “Open childcare center”, “teacher”, “parent”, “awareness”, and “parent involvement”. In terms of betweenness centrality, the most influential keywords were “improvement”, “relationship”, “type”, “meaning”, “daily life”, and “spontaneity”. This study discussed that ’Open childcare center’ research mainly focused on understanding the operational status, and the awareness and experiences of those involved, In addition, it was suggested that the academic and field-based attention to the effectiveness of this system and ways to improve it in order to provide reliable and high-quality ECEC.