What does an early childhood specialist do?
An early childhood specialist is responsible for managing the activities of young learners, monitoring their learning development, and designing engaging activities to observe their personal and social behaviors. Early childhood specialists assist the parents and the teachers of a child with administering programs that would expose their skills and their ability to solve basic problem-solving tasks. They coordinate with the parents to provide them progress updates and adjust learning strategies as needed depending on the child's performance.
Early childhood specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real early childhood specialist resumes:
- Perform CPR and first aid duties.
- Complete assessments, develop IEP's and track progress.
- Assist children's ministry team with projects as needed.
- Follow lesson plans to fit the school and kids needs.
- Facilitate formal kindergarten transition strategies for children in the GSRP program.
- Greet parents and kids punctually every day, in friendly manner.
- Create reading and math lessons that are effective and engaging to students.
- Collect information to complete NC Pre-K student and site records for monitoring visits and state audits.
- Provide guidance and oversight to teachers on the development of student goals and weekly lesson plans.
- Work with central office staff, clerks, and networks, to assist families in Pre-K enrollment.
- Assist with staff training of new staff hired.Establish goals and strategies for family service plans (IFSP).
- Establish and maintain open and positive lines of communication with students and their parents concerning academics, language and behavior.
- Supervise and conduct a variety of social groups for children on the autism spectrum and their siblings on a weekly basis.
- Develop and instruct lessons in the areas of daily living skills, literacy, mathematics, science, and social studies.
- Consult in autism intensive classrooms to develop defensible programs.
Early childhood specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Early Childhood Specialists are proficient in Professional Development, Technical Assistance, and Staff Development. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Physical stamina, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Early Childhood Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Professional Development, 13%
Missouri-certified trainer providing professional development for educators of young children in the metropolitan area for this early childhood services nonprofit.
- Technical Assistance, 12%
Provide coaching and technical assistance to teachers and administrators in community based early childhood programs.
- Staff Development, 10%
Facilitate staff development to meet quality ratings, child outcome assessments and shared services.
- Data Collection, 10%
Served as territory representative for the Step Up to Quality project while assisting with assessments and data collection.
- Child Development, 9%
Designed curriculum for a 12-week Parenting Skills group based on child development and Child-Parent Psychotherapy tenets.
- Performance Standards, 9%
Supported implementation of educational Head Start Performance Standards through determining procedural guidance for infant, toddler and preschool classrooms.
Common skills that an early childhood specialist uses to do their job include "professional development," "technical assistance," and "staff development." You can find details on the most important early childhood specialist responsibilities below.
Creativity. One of the key soft skills for an early childhood specialist to have is creativity. You can see how this relates to what early childhood specialists do because "preschool teachers must plan lessons that engage young children." Additionally, an early childhood specialist resume shows how early childhood specialists use creativity: "perform classroom creative curriculum observations on pre-k classes. "
Physical stamina. Many early childhood specialist duties rely on physical stamina. "preschool teachers should have a lot of energy, because working with children can be physically demanding.," so an early childhood specialist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways early childhood specialist responsibilities rely on physical stamina: "perform physical safety environment checks on pre-k classes. "
Organizational skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of early childhood specialists is organizational skills. This skill is critical to many everyday early childhood specialist duties, as "teachers need to be organized to plan lessons and keep records of the children." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "worked as a lead teacher, prepared authentic montessori exercises, taught and applied organizational skills. "
Interpersonal skills. early childhood specialist responsibilities often require "interpersonal skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "preschool teachers must understand children’s emotional needs and be able to develop relationships with parents, children, and coworkers." This resume example shows what early childhood specialists do with interpersonal skills on a typical day: "enhanced interpersonal skills that enabled me to network with other teachers and have an open communication with parents and administrators. "
Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in early childhood specialist job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what early childhood specialists do. Early childhood specialist responsibilities rely on this skill because "preschool teachers need good writing and speaking skills to talk to parents and colleagues about children’s progress." You can also see how early childhood specialist duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "maintained regular communication and collaboration with professional development specialists in other child care resource & referral agencies across the state. "
The three companies that hire the most early childhood specialists are:
- ICF109 early childhood specialists jobs
- Pediatric Partners, now a member of the Sevita family7 early childhood specialists jobs
- Chicago Public Schools5 early childhood specialists jobs
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Compare different early childhood specialists
Early childhood specialist vs. Resource teacher
A Resource Teacher is responsible for providing curriculum support systems for students, teachers, and administrators. Another role of a Resource Teacher is to assist the class teacher and provide additional support for children with moderate learning difficulties.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, early childhood specialist responsibilities require skills like "technical assistance," "provide technical assistance," "child development," and "performance standards." Meanwhile a typical resource teacher has skills in areas such as "mathematics," "student learning," "behavior management," and "ieps." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Resource teachers earn the highest salaries when working in the manufacturing industry, with an average yearly salary of $50,696. On the other hand, early childhood specialists are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $40,726.On average, resource teachers reach similar levels of education than early childhood specialists. Resource teachers are 4.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Early childhood specialist vs. Infant teacher
Infant teachers provide care to infants and a safe environment for them to develop. They are teachers that specialize in giving an educational environment to preschool babies and toddlers. These professional teachers guide the child or toddler in their educational development by creating appropriate programs. They lovingly, patiently, and efficiently respond to the child's needs. They should be able to demonstrate good judgment in their care and verbally engage with them throughout the day. Also, they must be caring and enjoy teaching these infants as well as be flexible in their schedule.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real early childhood specialist resumes. While early childhood specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "professional development," "technical assistance," "provide technical assistance," and "staff development," infant teachers use skills like "customer service," "infant care," "social growth," and "open communication."
Infant teachers may earn a lower salary than early childhood specialists, but infant teachers earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $43,375. On the other hand, early childhood specialists receive higher pay in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $40,726.infant teachers earn lower levels of education than early childhood specialists in general. They're 17.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Early childhood specialist vs. Pre-k teacher
Pre-K teachers play an essential role in the lives of young children ages three to five years old by developing and nurturing their interest in subjects appropriate for their age. They promote a creative learning environment and encourage social interactions among students while providing the fundamental educational foundation that will prepare them for a successful start to kindergarten. They are responsible for overseeing children during their mealtimes, reinforcing personal hygiene, and developing children's social skills. Pre-K teachers also plan curriculum and work with other school staff members.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, early childhood specialists are more likely to have skills like "technical assistance," "provide technical assistance," "staff development," and "data collection." But a pre-k teacher is more likely to have skills like "kids," "help support," "language arts," and "social studies."
When it comes to education, pre-k teachers tend to earn lower degree levels compared to early childhood specialists. In fact, they're 8.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Early childhood specialist vs. Long term substitute teacher
A long term substitute teacher is responsible for covering the duties of a teacher who is away for a long time. Long term substitute teachers proceed with the lesson plan outlines and the regular teacher's curriculum depending on their expertise. They monitor and assess the students' behavior, create an engaging learning environment, evaluate the students' learning progress by conducting a series of tests, create reports of the students' performance, and help students struggling with the subject.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between early childhood specialists and long term substitute teachers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an early childhood specialist might have more use for skills like "technical assistance," "provide technical assistance," "staff development," and "data collection." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of long term substitute teachers require skills like "long-term substitute," "social studies," "student learning," and "language arts. "
In general, long term substitute teachers earn the most working in the education industry, with an average salary of $44,729. The highest-paying industry for an early childhood specialist is the professional industry.long term substitute teachers reach similar levels of education compared to early childhood specialists, in general. The difference is that they're 2.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of early childhood specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
