A aprendizagem da docência com bebês e crianças bem pequenas: uma análise de cursos de pedagogia de universidades públicas brasileiras

Abstract

This research brings to the educational field the debate on initial teacher training for working with infants and very young children (children from zero to three years old). Its main objective is to investigate the teacher training models for Early Childhood Education in Brazilian Public Universities, questioning the presence of specificities for the education of this age group (typically provided by daycare centers within Early Childhood Education). By drawing an analysis between the policy texts that regulate teacher training in the country and the reality found in five Brazilian Public Universities, we seek to understand how the specificities for teaching infants and very young children are presented in the Pedagogy degree programs at these institutions. To capture a glimpse of the country's regional diversity, we selected one university from each of the five macro-regions of Brazil, with the additional selection criterion being the oldest Pedagogy program in that region, as it has likely undergone most of the country's educational reforms. Using the Policy Cycle approach as a methodological inspiration, we also aimed to identify, together with the graduating students of these programs (via an online questionnaire), factors present or absent in their training that could be considered favorable for their development as future teachers of children aged 0 to 3. We first sought to understand who children aged 0 to 3 are and the specificities of their education that need to be encompassed by teacher training. Next, we verified the presence of these specificities in the official documents regulating this training, both at the federal and local levels. However, our analysis pointed to a strong invisibility of both teaching in daycare centers and the children aged 0 to 3 themselves, who were seldom or never mentioned in these documents. Regarding the analysis of the training models at the participating universities, we encountered the influence of at least two models in each institution: a more traditional model, focused on theoretical knowledge and research, and a more critical and reflective model, focused on reflecting upon and analyzing the social and political contexts surrounding education. The research also highlighted some effects that the invisibility of infants and very young children can have on teacher training and even on the quality of education in daycare centers, namely: the lack of professional recognition for teaching this age group; training gaps in Pedagogy programs; and a lack of interest in pursuing a teaching career with children aged 0 to 3. The data presented in this research aim to contribute to discussions about public policies for initial teacher training, especially for teaching infants and very young children, affirming the need to break away from the invisibility of children aged 0 to 3 and their teachers, and to understand them as the full, potent, and cultural subjects they are.