Professional fields which relate to the care and support of young children, both medically and intellectually, have come under increased scrutiny in recent years. In particular, many people are unfamiliar with the different areas of expertise into which these fields are divided, and how their responsibilities overlap. Early childhood education and child development are two such fields, with the former relating primarily to teaching pre-teen children, and the latter to how a child grows — physically and mentally — within the same approximate time frame.
What is Early Childhood Education?
Early childhood education is sometimes known as nursery education, although this is typically a misnomer; ECE relates to the education of children throughout adolescense. There are specializations within the field, such as toddler education, which concerns certain learning benchmarks that are typically encountered by children at various stages up to the age of two (such as crawling, walking, and talking, as well as associating specific words with their relevant concepts). Recently, there has been an increasing focus on the role of digital technology in ECE, with new software solutions being developed with the learning abilities of younger children in mind.
What is Child Development?
Child development is potentially a much broader field than ECE, with a focus that includes psychological and emotional growth, as well as a range of physiological concerns. Its focus is on the all-around development of children through the end of their adolescent years. The focus of child development professionals is less on the evaluation of educational benchmarks and tools, and more on the ways in which students develop naturally, as well as on the offering of support services to help individuals who are struggling in certain areas. Frequently, this involves catching behavioral problems early, and helping to address them through positive support and coping mechanisms.
Is There Any Overlap?
Despite the separate underlying concerns of either of these two fields, there is significant overlap, in that both are concerned with the many ways in which a child grows and changes over the course of their early years. Early childhood education is concerned more with facilitating the best possible learning environment, and child development with overall health and wellness issues, but overlapping concerns arise in areas such as informal educational environments, unhealthy or absent support structures (at home, or in an under-funded academic setting), support for emotional issues and learning disabilities, and other areas which can potentially impact both psychological health and a child's ability to learn.
Early Childhood or Child Development Degrees: Fulfilling Educational and Degree Paths
The difference between these two fields can perhaps best be summarized as that of nurture and nature. ECE is focused on environmental concerns, and child development on latent abilities and typical developmental milestones. However, professionals in either field will come together in protecting the best interests of children, such as providing support for a variety of special needs, and ensuring the safety of educational environments for children with disabilities. Where a child's environment impacts their ability to learn and develop in a healthy manner, both early childhood education and childhood development could potentially come into play.