Blog: What can you do with an early childhood studies degree?

Early Childhood Studies course leader, Amanda Tayler, talks you through what you can do with an early childhood studies degree.


There are few more rewarding roles than helping children to develop new skills, grow socially and emotionally, and overcome challenges. An Early Childhood Studies degree can prepare you for roles just like this.

But let’s start with what Early Childhood Studies is. Early Childhood Studies looks at the theory and practice of working with young children. Focusing on early childhood (0-8), it takes traditional and contemporary theory out of the lectures and into settings and workplace contexts whilst exposing students to the vast range of environments where they can work with children and families.

The careers that you can move into following an Early Childhood Studies degree are incredibly varied. Graduates from our degree are now:

  • nursery managers – responsible for overseeing the daily operations of a nursery or childcare facility, nursery managers play a key role in the overall administration and quality of care provided at the nursery.
  • speech and language support workers or speech and language therapists – working with individuals of all ages to improve speech, language and social communication skills, a speech and language therapist is a professional who assess, diagnoses, and treats communication and swallowing disorders.
  • resettlement officers – working with individuals or families who have been displaced or resettled, resettlement officers play a crucial role in assisting people in building new lives and integrating into their new communities.
  • early years teachers and primary teachers, teaching various subjects, fostering a positive learning environment and collaborating with parents and colleagues, teachers play a crucial role in laying the foundations for a child’s education.
  • family support for the local authority – offering support in areas such as parenting skills, financial management, accessing community resources and addressing social or emotional issues within the family unit, the goal of a family support officer is to strengthen family bonds and enhance overall wellbeing.

On successful completion of your Early Childhood Studies degree you can also consider postgraduate study in alternative fields such as psychology or social work.

At Staffs, our module content is broad, we cover lots of different topics and offer specialist pathways in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, Mental Health and Wellbeing and Education for our Sustainable World. Our work-based learning opportunities offer the chance to try many different roles working with children and families so our graduates can be confident with their career choices.

 View BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies for more information on our early childhood course.

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