A escuta de crianças e seus possíveis ecos na proposta pedagógica e curricular da Educação Infantil de uma instituição pública de Salvador – BA.

Abstract

This Intervention Project, entitled Listening to children and its possible echoes in pedagogical and curricular proposal of early childhood education at a public institution in Salvador – BA, was prepared as a final course work for the Professional Master’s Degree in Education at Federal University of Bahia. Following the assumptions of participatory pedagogies (Gandini, 2016; Oliveira-Formosinho, 2007; Ribeiro, 2022; Rinaldi, 2014), understanding listening as a right and as a political pedagogical act (Freire, 2022; Santos, 2022), and the child as an active citizen with rights and a producer of culture (Corsaro, 2011), the research sought to listen to children to understand their perceptions about school and listening in this environment, analyzing how their voices can produce repercussions on pedagogical and curricular proposal of a public early childhood education institution. Thereunto, a participatory research study was conducted with interventional nature and a qualitative approach. Using her own methodology and inspired by Afro-Brazilian values (Trindade, 2005; 2010), the researcher developed investigative circles whose main methodological instruments were conversation circles and drawing. The research involved 41 children enrolled in a preschool at a public early childhood education institution in Salvador, Bahia. Throughout the investigative process, in collective and individual meetings, children spoke and drew pictures demonstrating their perceptions about the school, the experiences they want to have, and how they perceive listening in this space. Data analyses revealed that children have clear opinions about the school they have and the one they want, as their narratives addressed different aspects regarding the school spaces functioning. When talking about the school they want and how they understand listening in this space, children have discussed materiality, infrastructure, curriculum, relationships and experiences, expressing desires, feelings, and ideas consciously and critically. Their narratives revealed the need for pedagogical and curricular proposals to be dynamic, diverse, versatile, dialogic and participatory to provide contextualized and truly meaningful experiences in a playful, safe and affectionate environment. It is concluded that it is important to consider listening as a right, but also as a way of welcoming and as a political pedagogical act of great relevance to promote and guarantee the active participation of children in the world, and also in the construction of a more welcoming and meaningful school environment, emphasizing that children’s voices can and should generate echoes that reverberate in pedagogical and curricular proposal, promoting changes and improvements in the quality of early childhood education.