The Masters in Early Childhood Education is a degree which is becoming more and more in-demand. Recent developments in research into childhood learning have revealed that the foundation set by early childhood education can have a big impact on a child’s development and learning abilities later in life. As a result, more money is being poured into early childhood education to help kids get the best start possible.

As an early childhood educators you can work in daycare, kindergartens and preschools, helping young children develop basic learning skills. Many teachers prefer early childhood because they find working with very young children to be the most rewarding teaching experience.

The Best Masters in Early Childhood Education

While there are many quality Early Childhood Education Masters programs to choose from, these are a couple of the ones we think are amongst the best. Bear in mind that there’s a lot of variation between schools and programs, in terms of what they emphasize both in learning principles and teaching techniques. There may be a course better suited to your style which is not listed here.

One of our first picks is Vanderbilt University. The Vanderbilt program is very field-intensive – most of the learning happens in a real classroom situation. That may sound intimidating at first, but at the end of the day, when it comes to teaching you can only master it by doing it. Most early childhood educators only really feel comfortable and confident after dozens of hours in a classroom, so Vanderbilt’s course is the perfect preparation for a successful career.

Another big name in this field is Boston University. This is a solid general course which will allow you to work in a range of situations, both in traditional preschool environment and non-school teaching roles like church groups. Their Early Childhood Learning Laboratory allows you to get plenty of that crucial in-field experience while you do your degree.

Masters in Early Childhood Special Education

Having a learning disability can make life hard for any kid, but especially so at the early childhood level where few teachers know how to deal with kids suffering from behavioral disorders like ADHD and autism. A Masters in Early Childhood Special Education is a highly specialized course which allows you to help kids with such learning problems from a very young age.

Masters in Early Childhood Education Online

Online courses in early childhood education have exploded in popularity over the last few years as the demand for early childhood teachers expands.

Capella University offers a good online Masters in Early Childhood Education program which covers all the essentials in a way that makes distance learning fairly easy and not too stressful. Along with teaching techniques it covers key skills like how to manage a classroom environment, as well as early childhood psychology. The only drawback is that this course in itself will not give you a license to teach, so you’ll need to look into licensure separately.

Liberty University also offers an online Masters in ECE which will prepare you for a career in a daycare or preschool environment. The school can provide licensure for Virginia, where it’s based, but if you’re completing the program outside Virginia and you want to work outside Virginia, you’ll need to arrange licensure in your own state.

Masters in Early Childhood Education Jobs

Teaching and caregiver roles at daycare and kindergartens represent the biggest employment opportunities for someone with a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education, with some opportunities also existing at primary and elementary school level. If you choose to specialize in special education you can fill a unique role helping kids with special needs – these jobs are relatively few and far between but their numbers are growing.

Masters in Early Childhood Education Salary

$43,000 to $50,000 a year is a typical salary range for a Masters in ECE grad. Opportunities for higher salaries with a masters in early childhood education exist if you can work your way up to a leadership role, such as the director of a kindergarten.