THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE IN DEVELOPING SPEECH ABILITIES OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of children’s literature in developing the speech abilities of preschool children through a bibliometric analysis of scientific publications indexed in the Scopus database. The aim of the research is to identify key trends, influential studies, thematic clusters, and emerging directions in this field. The dataset consists of 27 peer-reviewed articles published between 2005 and 2025. The results reveal a significant growth in research activity, particularly after 2020, indicating increasing academic interest in the role of children’s literature in early language development. Citation analysis shows that the most influential studies emphasize the holistic developmental potential of children’s literature, including cognitive, social, and emotional dimensions. The keyword co-occurrence network identifies storytelling as the central concept that links various research themes, such as emergent literacy, education, and narrative practices. At the same time, the findings highlight the growing importance of digital storytelling, interactive narratives, and multimedia resources in contemporary educational contexts. The geographical distribution of publications demonstrates a strong concentration of research in a limited number of countries, with underrepresentation of emerging regions. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the structure and evolution of the research field and provide a basis for future empirical and comparative studies.