Avaliação da formação continuada de professores da Educação Infantil no Distrito 3 da Rede Municipal de Fortaleza: avanços e desafios

Abstract

High-quality pedagogical practice is essential in early childhood education because it establishes a link between theory and teaching practice, thereby promoting learning and the full development of children at this stage. One of the pillars for ensuring such pedagogical practice is the continuous professional development of teachers, which, in the municipal education network of Fortaleza, is a public policy guaranteed by Ordinance No. 204/2014. Based on this context, the present research aims to evaluate the Continuing Education Program for Early Childhood Education Teachers of the Fortaleza Municipal Public School System in an early childhood education center in District 3, analyzing the manifestation of the knowledge and conceptions envisaged by this Policy in teachers’ pedagogical practice. The theoretical framework of this research includes Freire (2019), Imbernón (2009, 2011), Saviani (2009), Silva (2013), the LDB No. 9394/96, the BNCC (2017), the DCRC (2019), and the DCRFor (2024), among other authors and legal documents related to the continuous education process, specifically in early childhood education. The study is grounded in the perspective of in-depth evaluation, according to Rodrigues (2008), and addresses the dimensions of content, context, trajectory, and territoriality of the policy. Regarding methodology, this is an applied research study with a qualitative approach. In terms of objectives, it is classified as descriptive and exploratory. For data collection procedures, direct observation and semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers of the Infantil II and Infantil III classes from an early childhood education center, located in Education District 3, as well as with the school principal, the pedagogical coordinator, and the instructional specialists from that district and from the SME, between 2023 and 2024. The research design was developed in two stages: bibliographic and documentary research, followed by field research involving semi-structured interviews and observation. The results highlighted the importance of continuous professional development in transforming pedagogical practice; however, they also emphasized the need to align methodological strategies with teachers’ expectations, who point out urgent topics such as inclusive education and teachers’ mental health. Following this study, we conclude that the Continuous Professional Development Policy for Early Childhood Education Teachers in the Fortaleza Municipal Network systematically contributes to the holistic development of children through the manifestation of this knowledge into teachers’ pedagogical practice.