Hello everyone! I am an Early Childhood Education (ECE) Professional and I am excited to share with you what my field is all about. First, early childhood is defined as ages birth through 8 years old. When people hear "Early Childhood Education" it is most common for them to think of preschool teachers. While preschool teachers certainly make up a large portion of ECE professionals, there are many more opportunities in this field outside of the classroom. For example, you could be a Director of a facility. A director is responsible for curriculum development, implementation, and management of day to day activities of that particular center. Teachers in a preschool or child care setting report directly to the center director. ECE Professor is another option in this field. An ECE Professor is the instructor of students who are studying ECE. Inside the field of ECE, there are many specialties. You can choose to be a behavior analyst who comes into a classroom and evaluates a student who struggles with behavior, writes a behavior plan for that child, and shows the stakeholders how to effectively implement that plan. You can choose to be a quality control specialist who would come into various centers and evaluate the environments, curriculum, teaching practices, and policies to ensure high quality education and developmentally appropriate practices are being used.
Early childhood education focuses on the growth of the young child. This includes physical development, intellectual development, and social emotional development. There has been a recent push on focusing on the social emotional development of young children. When we can teach a child early on how to identify their emotions and how to respond appropriately, we save that child from future difficulties such as aggression, bullying behaviors, and emotional difficulties. The field of early childhood education values development of the whole child to ensure that we are giving them a strong foundation on which to build to become well rounded healthy adults.
Some of the advantages of ECE is working with an age group that is pliant. Meaning that children this age are more adaptable to change than older children. They are very eager to please and learn best through play. You get payed to play with children! How great is that?!?! Another advantage of this profession is that in general, you have the summers off! If you are looking into entering this field you should first enjoy being around children. You should be friendly, patient, and flexible. As you can imagine, in a day with 20 four year old children, no matter how well planned in advance you will need to be open to the needs of the students and adjust your plans accordingly. Two year-old's do not care what your lesson plan that you worked weeks on says, they care about what they want or need in that moment. You should have a good understanding of what is developmentally appropriate for the age group that you are wishing to work with. Remember, ECE is birth to age 8. Your choice of age group will determine your approach. A plan for a 3 year old will look a lot differently than a plan for a 7 year old. Entry level positions typically require a high school diploma. If you are interested in moving up in the field there are many degree options to choose from in the fields of education, social work, and psychology.
Hi Amber,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I think the ECE field is amazing because children at this age are developing so much and they absorb everything around them. I think the key to success is to teach children at a young age so they develop appropriately as they get older. I received my Associate's degree in ECE but I decided to switch my profession into management. While I worked in the ECE field I learned so much especially while working with the children. You're absolutely correct about dropping lesson plans and just sitting down to play. I really enjoyed working in this field simply because it was fun and you were still teaching at the same time.
Early Childhood Education sounds like a really fun and interesting field to be a part of. I love kids and wouldn’t mind working with them every day myself . The birth to age 8 range may sound like a short time frame, but children develop so much during this time, so there is a lot to learn about the changes they go through. When I got pregnant with my son, I dug into research about the development of babies and learned a ton. As he grows, I continue to keep up with what stages he is or soon will be going through so I can understand how to assist him. Finding the best approach to helping kids grow physically, intellectually, and socially is a complex and difficult task though and it is made even harder by the fact that some approaches need to be adapted for each child’s needs. Thank goodness we have people that have devoted themselves to this field to make sure our children grow and develop properly!
ReplyDeleteHi Amber,
ReplyDeleteI thought your post was very well thought out and full of applicable detail. Also, your attitude toward children would suggest to me that you would be exactly the type of educator that children need. In addition, you noted that students in this stage of their schooling are still developing the necessary social skills that will help them be productive and happy members of society. Prior to reading your post, I had no idea that there were so many different career avenues for ECE majors. I was wondering about one aspect of your post: if early childhood education is so vital to children, why would the field typically only require a high school diploma in order to be qualified? Would a certificate or license, similar to elementary or secondary educators, be required to enter this field?
Mike,
DeleteThank you for your reply. As for your question of education requirements, it does depend on where you enter the field. A Bachelor's degree is required along with licensure to work in a preschool setting that is in the school district. Private preschool or non-profit preschools have more flexibility in who they hire and what qualifications they require. Early childhood education is slowly becoming accepted as a profession but we have a ways to go.
I didn't realize there were so many career options in early childhood education. What are your thoughts about mother's in the workplace and how that impacts ECE? I often feel that I would of loved to stay at home with my kids but at the same time question if I have the patience. Either way I am very thankful for our local Family Resource Center and the ECE programs they provided for my children. There is no better feeling than knowing you are leaving you kids with excellent caregivers and teachers.
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