McCormick Institute for Early Childhood

BY McCormick Center | May 7, 2018

A woman wearing glasses and a suit is smiling in front of a flag.

Sim Loh is a family partnership coordinator at Children’s Village, a nationally-accredited Keystone 4 STARS early learning and school-age enrichment program in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, serving about 350 children. She supports children and families, including non-English speaking families of immigrant status, by ensuring equitable access to education, health, employment, and legal information and resources on a day-to-day basis. She is a member of the Children First Racial Equity Early Childhood Education Provider Council, a community member representative of Philadelphia School District Multilingual Advisory Council, and a board member of Historic Philadelphia.


Sim explains, “I ensure families know their rights and educate them on ways to speak up for themselves and request for interpretation/translation services. I share families’ stories and experiences with legislators and decision-makers so that their needs are understood. Attending Leadership Connections will help me strengthen and grow my skills in all domains by interacting with and hearing from experienced leaders in different positions. With newly acquired skills, I seek to learn about the systems level while paying close attention to the accessibility and barriers of different systems and resources and their impacts on young children and their families.”

This document may be printed, photocopied, and disseminated freely with attribution. All content is the property of the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership.

This resource is part of our Research Notes series.


In response to the 2017 release of NAEYC’s Early Childhood Higher Education (ECHE) Directory,1 Mary Harril, Senior Director of Higher Education at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), raised some important concerns about the complexity of degree programs and pathways for the early childhood education workforce.2 She noted that there are over 3,000 early childhood degree programs, with more than 60 different names at certain levels, which may include multiple tracks for each degree, and are housed in a variety of divisions or departments within a college or university. Researchers at the McCormick Center examined the ECHE Directory to determine the prevalence of degree programs for early childhood leaders and posted the results on the L.E.A.D. Early Childhood Clearinghouse website.3 They found a similar array of degree names and complexity in the education pathways to program leadership, which suggests a need to define and clarify how ECE leaders—directors, family child care providers, and other administrators—are prepared. As NAEYC facilitates the Power to the Profession initiative, specialization in early childhood program leadership is especially relevant. Greater clarity about the professional preparation of the early childhood workforce, including program leaders, is needed as the Power to the Profession initiative advances. This study is particularly useful in identifying post-secondary education programs that prepare and support early childhood leaders.


METHODS


In the fall of 2016, McCormick Center staff scanned the NAEYC ECHE Directory and identified programs that included early childhood leadership, management, administration, or advocacy in the degree program’s name. It was evident that many degree programs offer coursework in leadership and management; however, for the purposes of this study, it was assumed that if it was not referenced in the degree’s name, it was not the primary focus of the course of study. Then researchers conducted further analysis of the identified programs by examining content on each individual program’s website to verify its focus and to collect additional information. A comprehensive dataset was created that contained the number of institutions, number of programs, type of institution (public or private), duration of the degree programs (2-year or 4-year), degree levels, and learning modalities (in-person, on-line, or blended).


The higher education data were included in the creation of profiles for all 50 states and the District of Columbia on the L.E.A.D. Early Childhood Clearinghouse website. They were also combined as part of a national profile on the status of early childhood program leadership. In June 2017, NAEYC revised the ECHE Directory. McCormick Center staff reviewed the revised site and updated the dataset and information on the L.E.A.D. Early Childhood Clearinghouse website.


FINDINGS


The researchers found 84 higher education degree programs (3% of total ECE programs), at 76 college and university campuses in the United States, with a specific focus on early childhood leadership, management, administration, or advocacy. They were located in 34 states and the District of Columbia. Table 1 shows statistics from the national scan.

A table of ece leadership degree programs in the united states

A majority of early childhood leadership degree programs (73%) are offered at public institutions and 27% at private colleges and universities. Leadership degrees are offered at both 2-year institutions (46%) and 4-year institutions (54%).

A pie chart showing the number of early childhood leadership degree program learning modalities.

It is possible to find post-secondary education in early childhood leadership at all degree levels. Over half of the programs (52%) confer Associate degrees, with 20% and 23% at the Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree levels respectively. There are four doctoral programs (5%) in early childhood leadership in the United States. Most programs (79%) are delivered in-person; however, 15% are offered exclusively on-line and 6% are hybrid programs. Figure 1 shows the number of programs by learning modality.


This study revealed that access is uneven to higher education offerings in early childhood leadership. While programs are available in only 34 states, 13 programs are offered entirely online. Coursework is available for students at multiple levels—associate through doctoral degrees. Geographic presentation of the programs, and links to their websites, is available through maps on the L.E.A.D. Early Childhood Clearinghouse website.


DISCUSSION


The McCormick Center researchers were surprised to learn of 84 early childhood degree programs in early childhood leadership. A comprehensive study of higher education programs with this specialization had not previously been conducted and the substantial number of ECE leadership degree programs was greater than expected. The findings of this study suggest a rapid growth of leadership as an academic discipline in recent decades.


Some of the concerns that Mary Harrill raised in the New America blog also apply to leadership programs in higher education. The naming of degrees is not standardized making it difficult to compare across programs. By examining each individual program’s website, McCormick Center researchers were able to examine how these programs emphasized leadership, management, administration, and/or advocacy. The emergence of early childhood leadership as an academic discipline raises some important questions and considerations for the field, especially during this time of professionalization of the early childhood workforce. One question raised by the Power to the Profession initiative is whether early childhood program leaders—directors, family child care providers, and other administrators—are part of the early childhood education profession. The answer to this question has significant implications for the content of higher education programs designed to prepare program leaders. Additional research is needed about the early childhood leadership workforce and the preparation of individuals pursuing both pedagogical and administrative leadership roles.4 More information about the nature of leadership preparation degree programs would help guide this emerging specialization.


REFERENCES


  1. NAEYC Early Childhood Higher Education Directory. https://degreefinder.naeyc.org/
  2. Harril, M. (December 1, 2017). Tomayto, Tomahto: What’s in a [Degree] Name? Blogpost. New America: https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/edcentral/tomayto-tomahto-whats-degree-name/
  3. Closing the Early Childhood Leadership Gap. (January 1, 2018). McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership: http://mccormickcenter.nl.edu/lead/closing-the-leadership-gap/
  4. Abel, M. B., Talan, T. N., & Masterson, M. (2017, Jan/Feb). Whole leadership: A framework for early childhood programs. Exchange (19460406), 39(233), 22-25.

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The AI-Enabled Administrator: Reclaim Valuable Time

By Dr. Neal Green • February 8, 2026
Tools: Gemini Gems, NotebookLM, Perplexity Spaces Overview The evidence is clear that early childhood professionals' most significant challenge is a lack of time. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, when used strategically, can give administrators some of the time they desperately need, allowing them to focus more on their staff and the children and families in their care. This approach aligns with the foundational goal of strengthening leadership effectiveness and program impact (Abel, Talan, & Masterson, 2023). When I scan the AI landscape of available products and platforms, it becomes overwhelming. There are so many options that it is impossible to keep up with every new development. Focusing on a limited number of AI tools backed by organizations with strong infrastructure and fiscal stability is a wise place to start your AI journey. McCormick Institute for Early Childhood’s (MIEC’s) upcoming professional development sessions will focus on three AI tools. These include Gemini Gems, NotebookLM, and Perplexity Spaces. Think of Gemini Gems as your customized AI assistant that you "train" to follow your rules and meet your goals. Gemini Gems are the right tool to tackle Internal Operations . NotebookLM is perfect for creating Family Support resources that stick. NotebookLM is a powerful AI tool that uses only the documents or other resources you add to generate specific, focused output. Perplexity Spaces is a fantastic choice to address Marketing demands. Like many AI tools, you can toggle back and forth between open web searches and focused documents that are specific to your work. Gemini Gems: The “Specialist Teammate” Gemini Gems allow you to create templates you can use repeatedly for agendas, HR policies, and more. If you have used AI in the past, you know that writing an effective prompt takes time, and they can easily get "lost" if you use AI often. Gems removes that challenge and lets you save your most effective prompts without having to rewrite them every time you use Gemini. It is up to you to decide if you want to create several smaller Gems to tackle common challenges you face or create larger Gems that encompass large swaths of your work. For our purposes, we will focus our Gem work on Internal Operations, addressing Program Administration Scale (PAS) Item 9: Internal Communications (Talan & Bloom, 2011). Imagine using a Gem to turn messy staff meeting notes into professional minutes with clear action plans in minutes or less! NotebookLM: The "Walled Garden" NotebookLM is an excellent tool for Family Support for your center, addressing PAS Item 17: Family Support and Involvement (Talan & Bloom, 2011). After uploading documents and resources, such as your parent handbook or community referral lists, to your Notebook, you can create several resources that parents/guardians of your center students will love. Just a few of the impressive features available with NotebookLM include audio (podcast) summaries, video summaries, and reporting functions with templates or the option to create your own report with metrics that matter most to you. Perplexity Spaces: The "Research Librarian" Perplexity Spaces is a perfect AI partner for Marketing your early childhood education (ECE) program, addressing PAS Item 18: External Communications (Talan & Bloom, 2011). You can build your own centralized repository, with control over branding to ensure consistency and present a professional, current image. Adding specific instructions to your space eliminates the need to format documents constantly and saves valuable time. The consistency that a Perplexity Space offers in this regard allows you to upload messages that are the "voice” of your brand. Your marketing efforts are not only more aesthetically pleasing but also enable you to track trends at similar centers in your area, helping you assess the competition. Strategies for Success: Audit your Internal Communications: Identify one repetitive task, such as creating staff meeting agendas (PAS Item 9), and automate it with a Gemini Gem. Curate your Family Resources: Gather three to five existing documents to "feed" a NotebookLM project for more responsive family support (PAS Item 17). Standardize your Brand: Use a Perplexity Space to ensure all public relations tools project a consistent, professional image (PAS Item 18). Reflection Questions: Which administrative task takes the most time away from your interactions with staff and families? How might centralizing marketing materials (branding) impact the professional image to prospective families? Table 1: AI Tools for ECE Professionals
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