“Será que essa criança tem alguma coisa? ”: um estudo sobre os desafios e as ações pedagógicas em um centro de educação infantil de Fortaleza

Abstract

This study investigates the challenges faced and the pedagogical actions developed by educators at an Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC) in Fortaleza in relation to the processes of psychopathologization in very early childhood, especially in their work with children who present difficulties in their integral development. Grounded in psychoanalysis as a theoretical-methodological framework, the research is based on the understanding of the child as a subject in the process of constitution, whose early experiences and living context actively participate in their processes of subjectivation. This is a qualitative study developed through the research-intervention methodology, linked to the umbrella project “Mental Health in Childhood and Adolescence in the Contexts of Education and Intersectoral Health Care,” established through a partnership agreement between the Municipal Department of Education of Fortaleza (SME) and the Federal University of Ceará (UFC). The research participants were educators and the children’s family members, whose accounts were essential for understanding the investigated phenomenon. Data production included participant observation and discussion groups, with records systematized in a field diary. The analysis of the participants’ statements identified the presence of normative discourses that generate insecurity and, at times, dependence on medical diagnoses to legitimize pedagogical practices, as well as the fragility of the intersectoral care network. On the other hand, the study also revealed the possibility of constructing certain strategies within the ECEC, highlighting free play, continuing education programs, and the strengthening of partnerships with families as fundamental elements in addressing these challenges and promoting children’s integral development.