Understanding the terminology is a helpful way to start an investigation of professionalism in ECE. The terms profession and professional are used frequently in our everyday conversations. However, our common use of these terms does not ensure that we understand what these terms mean as we apply them to our work as educators.

In our work life, we may use the term professional to refer to the fact that we are committed to doing our jobs well, that we are good employees (i.e., punctual, respectful to colleagues, dress appropriately), that we provide reliable and competent service. Or, it may simply mean that we get paid for what we do (Feeney, 2012). The term professional may be used as a compliment, indicating that that person is good at their job.

While we may use the term professional to describe how we behave at our jobs, a body of scholarly literature exists in which academics from various disciplines have discussed the meaning of the term.

In this section, we will define terms that assist in understanding the conversation about ECE becoming a profession.

Field

It is not unusual to refer to the “field of ECE.” We used that phrase in Chapter 1 . Calling ECE a field allows us to create a boundary around what we mean by ECE; it allows for defining what fits into this category. Similarly, we often hear of those who work in the business and medical “fields.” As Goffin and Washington (2019) suggest, the term ECE field describes all of the programs, services, and occupations that currently reside within the boundary of what we call ECE—childcare, either in centers or family childcare homes; preschool; and care for infants and toddlers, for example.

Field of Practice

A field of practice refers to a specialization or a defined scope of work undertaken by an identified group of practitioners. It is a term often used to describe medicine or social work specialties. Stacie Goffin has also applied the term field of practice to ECE (Goffin, 2015; Goffin & Washington, 2019). A field of practice, according to Goffin, indicates the roles that directly focus on the learning and development of children. In other words, the ECE field of practice refers to those who educate and facilitate child development. Calling ECE a field of practice allows for defining the focus—the learning and development of young children. Naming it as a field of practice also highlights that the field’s main objective is competent practice and suggests that we understand what it means to educate young children competently. In sum, the ECE field of practice is populated by those who do the work of direct service to children, which also assumes a level of competent practice to be successful.

Profession

The term profession is commonly accepted to mean an “occupation that serves the public welfare and that requires specialized educational training in some branch of learning or science” (Feeney, 2012, p. 6). Thus, a profession requires specialized education not held by others and serves a public good instead of serving one’s self-interest alone (i.e., simply getting a paycheck).

Professionals

If a profession is an occupation that serves a public good and requires education, a professional is the inhabitant of a role in that occupation—the person who does the work of the profession. Applying the definition of profession just shared, a professional is a person who has committed to serving the public good related to that field and has achieved the educational requirement necessary to play that role. In the field of ECE, it is not unusual to hear about efforts to professionalize the field, often referring to incremental efforts to improve the practice of individuals rather than system-wide efforts to meet the full definition of a profession.

A large body of academic literature has identified the defining features of a profession. Although there is disagreement about which features are critical, some are commonly included and are accepted as essential to the definition. Feeney (2012) identifies eight criteria regularly found in the literature to define professions. Table 11.1 describes these criteria.