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Overview How is “early childhood” defined? Early childhood is broadly defined as the period of growth and development from birth through age eight. Early childhood settings include: Child care centers Family child care homes Preschools Early Head Start and Head Start programs Early intervention programs Pre-K and kindergarten Primary grades 1st through 3rd These programs are designed to nurture and support the learning of the children and families they serve. What are the professional opportunities? There are many exciting opportunities in the early childhood field. There is a need for teachers, administrators, teacher educators and researchers. Community-based venues that focus on learning for young children include; museums, television producers, teacher resource venues, computer programmers and specialized hospital staff. Early childhood positions offer many opportunities to interact with, value, and support children and families. Early childhood professionals that interact daily with children include: teacher, caregiver, teacher assistant center or family child care provider bilingual assistant early interventionist special needs specialist   Early childhood professionals that provide direct services to families with young children include: home visitor social worker child care resource-and-referral counselor   Early childhood professionals that direct and organize programs and services for children and families include: child care/preschool/Head Start program director primary school principal   Early childhood professionals that educate students and professionals who work with children and families include: college or university faculty member staff development specialist video producer, journal editor, book author   Early Childhood professionals that develop and monitor child and family services and/or policy include: early childhood advocate policy analyst child care licensing specialist   Early childhood professionals who investigate the characteristics of young children, families, and effective early care and education practices include: researcher foundation program officer government analyst What professions are related to the early childhood field? It is a common practice for early childhood educators to team with colleagues from an allied field. These include: speech pathologists, occupational therapist, psychologists, special educators, and art therapists, along with medical professionals. Many early childhood educators choose to seek further education so they can enter one of the allied professions. For example, early childhood knowledge and experience are invaluable to family counselors or special educators who teach children with physical, intellectual, or emotional disabilities. Still others apply their early childhood knowledge as authors or film producers. Some seek graduate degrees that enable them to conduct research, direct programs, offer technical assistance, or teach at the college or university level.