Compreensões sobre a prática pedagógica na educação infantil e necessidades formativas das professoras

Abstract

The present study deals with a master's research developed in the Graduate Program in Education of the Federal University of Alagoas (PPGE / UFAL) entitled Understandings about pedagogical practice in early childhood education and teacher training needs, carried out in the municipality of Penedo-AL. This research is linked to the larger research developed by Haddad (2018), entitled “Understandings of pedagogical practice in early childhood education: second-order observations from video recording”, which aimed to understand basic concepts and values related to good pedagogical practices in early childhood education and uses an innovative method created and developed by two Danish researchers (HANSEN; JENSEN, 2004). This is Sophos, acronym for Second Order Phenomenological Observation Scheme. The Sophos method combines the showing of films and their discussion in focus groups by several observers. The focus is on who watches the films, their reactions, their impressions and understandings. Thus, the researcher who uses Sophos observes people who are observing the video recording pedagogical practice in the films. With the use of Sophos, the present research had as objectives: to investigate the understandings of early childhood teachers in the Municipal Network of Penedo-AL on pedagogical practices and as specific objectives: a) to identify conceptions of children, childhood and early childhood education present in the voices of teachers; and b) to identify, from the point of view of the teachers, the training needs of these professionals. The study involved the exhibition of two films about everyday situations of early childhood education in two countries: Brazil (HADDAD, 2017) and Denmark (HADDAD; JENSEN, 2017) and their discussion in focus groups (FG). The films were produced and used in the context of the Haddad's larger research we referred to earlier. Three focus groups were then carried out, involving the participation of twelve teachers from the municipal network of Penedo-AL, distributed as follows: FG 1 = 5; GF 2 = 3; FG 3 = 4. The dialogue at the FG was permeated by two questions: What comes to your mind when watching the film? What do you identify as training needs? Among the themes that emerged in the FG, emphasis was placed on the environment and training needs. The depositions expressed in relation to the environment were permeated by two logics: the logic of life and the logic of schooling, demonstrating that initiatives that try to approximate the practices developed in early childhood education with the daily activities that children experience make sense for teachers. However, the practices offered in the centers are strongly influenced by a schooling vision of early childhood education that is very ingrained in the teachers, as well as in the families that expect children to be literate for entry into elementary school. The voices also point out that the education system guides pedagogical work along these lines, thus characterizing early childhood education as a preparatory stage for elementary education in the researched municipality. The voices about the training needs demonstrated that in an attempt to identify their training needs, the observers revealed the desire for a new pedagogy based on the principle of experience, the convivial relationship and collaborative work between the teacher, the child, the family and the community. Although this pedagogy is still far from their reality, it represents a possible dream for them. Thus, they talk about study groups as a possibility to reflect on the practice and transform this reality. The relevance of this research is given by the valorization of the voices of the participants and being able to contribute to the reflection on good practices of education and care in early childhood education with the possibility of bringing elements that can raise major reflections on the knowledge and practices in early childhood education.