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early childhood program administration

A program that focuses on early childhood educational program administration and prepares individuals to serve as a principal or director of an early childhood educational program. Includes instruction in early childhood education, program and facilities planning, budgeting and administration, public relations, human resources management, early childhood growth and development, counseling skills, applicable law and regulations, school safety, policy studies, and professional standards and ethics.

Types of Degrees early childhood program administration Majors Are Earning

Those studying early childhood program administration can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Associate’s Degree	54
Bachelor’s Degree	34
Master’s Degree	16

What early childhood program administration Majors Need to Know

Programs in early childhood program administration develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that early childhood program administration graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in early childhood program administration emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills developed in a early childhood program administration program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Judgment and Decision Making — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to early childhood program administration careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, early childhood program administration graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.7 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.7 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.6 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.5 / 7
Developing and Building Teams	4.5 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.4 / 7
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.4 / 7
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by early childhood program administration professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Bloomz	Desktop communications software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
ACS Technologies HeadMaster	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Publisher	Desktop publishing software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
ParentSquare	Desktop communications software	—
Wilcomp Software RenWeb	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Seasia Consulting School Wizard	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for early childhood program administration graduates include:

• Educational Program Director
• Principal
• Testing Director
• Assessment Coordinator
• Vice Principal
• K-12 School Principal (Kindergarten Through Twelfth Grade School Principal)
• School Superintendent
• Pupil Personnel Program Director
• Student Services Coordinator
• School Principal
• Special Programs Director
• Education Supervisor
• Mother Superior
• Elementary School Principal
• Elementary Principal

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to early childhood program administration graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	44.8%
Bachelor’s degree	20.2%
Post-master’s certificate	11.5%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	8.4%
High school diploma or equivalent	6.8%
Some college courses	5.2%
Postsecondary certificate	1.6%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.6%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in early childhood program administration?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 89.4% of early childhood program administration degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	93	89.4%
Men	11	10.6%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of early childhood program administration graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	49	47.1%
Asian	4	3.8%
Hispanic or Latino	8	7.7%
Black or African American	33	31.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1	1.0%
Two or More Races	4	3.8%
Race Unknown	3	2.9%
International Students	2	1.9%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do early childhood program administration Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of early childhood program administration graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$65,211
4 years	$67,022
5 years	$74,441

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $74,441 — roughly 14% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online early childhood program administration Programs

Distance learning is reported by IPEDS for early childhood program administration. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	1	0
Bachelor’s	2	0
Master’s	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in early childhood program administration Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, early childhood program administration graduates earn a median of $67,022 four years after completion — roughly 76% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Educational Administration and Supervision	42,255
Educational Leadership and Administration, General	29,806
Higher Education/Higher Education Administration	4,404
Educational Administration and Supervision, Other	1,941
Educational, Instructional, and Curriculum Supervision	1,682
Elementary and Middle School Administration/Principalship	1,258
Superintendency and Educational System Administration	1,056
Secondary School Administration/Principalship	460
Community College Administration	335
Adult and Continuing Education Administration	330
Administration of Special Education	228
International School Administration/Leadership	22

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.