It is less important that all fields of research, practice, and policy adhere to the exact same categorizations, and more important that all conduct their work in a way that is cognizant and inclusive of all the elements that contribute to child development and early learning, and that all fields recognize that they are interactive and mutually reinforcing rather than hierarchical. In an overarching example of interactions, a child’s security both physically and in relationships creates the context in which learning is most achievable across all of the domains. Similarly, although certain skills and concept knowledge are distinct to developing proficiency in particular subject areas, learning in these subject areas also both requires and supports general cognitive skills such as reasoning and attention, as well as learning competencies and socioemotional competence.

For example, socioemotionalĬompetence is important for self-regulation, as are certain cognitive skills, and both emotional and cognitive self-regulation are important for children to be able to exercise learning competencies. Therefore, the importance of the interactions among the domains is emphasized throughout this chapter. Each enables and mutually supports learning and development in the others. The challenge of cleanly separating these concepts highlights a key attribute of all of these domains, which is that they do not develop or operate in isolation. Mental health is closely linked to socioemotional competence, but is also inseparable from health. Attention and memory could be considered a part of general cognitive processes, as embedded within executive function, or linked to learning competencies related to persistence. It is sometimes categorized as a part of executive function, as a part of socioemotional competence, or as a part of learning competencies. Similarly, self-regulation has both cognitive and emotional dimensions. For example, different disciplines and researchers have categorized different general cognitive processes under the categorical term “executive function.” General cognitive processes also relate to learning competencies such as persistence and engagement. Indeed, it is essential to recognize that the domains shown in Figure 4-1 are not easily separable and that a case can be made for multiple different categorizations.

The committee does not intend to present this as a single best set of terms or a single best categorical organization. To organize the discussion in this report, the committee elected to use the approach and overarching terms depicted in Figure 4-1. The domains of child development and early learning are discussed in different terms and categorized in different ways in the various fields and disciplines that are involved in research, practice, and policy related to children from birth through age 8.

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