20 years of childhood education

Twenty years ago, the first childhood education degree programs were established at German universities. The profession of childhood educator focuses on family and public education, upbringing, and care during childhood; the living environments, cultures, and living conditions of children and their families; and collaboration with families.

Since 2009, the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences has offered a degree program in childhood education and receive the state-recognized degree in childhood education.

The 20th anniversary of the childhood education degree programs was celebrated on September 19–20, 2024, at the Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, together with organizations active in childhood education, education policy stakeholders, graduates, students, specialists and teachers working in training and continuing education, and university representatives on September 19–20, 2024, at the Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. The conference was organized by the Childhood Education Program, the Federal Working Group on Education and Upbringing in Childhood (Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Bildung und Erziehung in der Kindheit e.V.), the Early Childhood Education Commission of the DGfE (PdfK), and the German Professional Association for Childhood Education. Prof. Dr. phil. habil. Andrea G. Eckhardt (PdfK) served as a member of the conference’s scientific steering committee.

As early as May 30, 2024, the Evangelical University of Dresden, Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, Zittau/Görlitz, the University of Leipzig, and the Breitenbrunn University of Cooperative Education celebrated the anniversary of childhood education degree programs in Saxony at a joint event organized by the Saxony regional chapter of the Studiengangstag.