A funcionalidade dos espaços/ambientes da creche no desenvolvimento integral dos bebês: o que dizem as professoras

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the functionality of spaces/environments in daycare centers and is based on the following assumptions: spaces/environments of daycare centers are an important element that interferes with and constitutes pedagogical practices; they include as the architecture of the building, its decoration, the materials that are used by teachers and babie as the interactions, their purposes and the experiences that take place in them; and they reflect the conceptions of children and Early Childhood Education. In this way, this study adds to the work of other researchers who seek to give greater visibility to babies and their teachers. This research aimed to analyze teachers' understanding of the functionality of daycare spaces/environments with a focus on their contributions to the integral development of babies.In this sense, it dialogues with the Historical-Cultural Theory (Vigotsky, 2010; Costa; Mello, 2017), with Pedagogies in Participation (Formosinho, 2011; 2013; Hoyuelos, 2020; Edwards; Gandini; Forman, 2016), as well as with other studies (Zabalza, 1998; Horn, 2004; 2017), which discuss the subject raised in this dissertation.This is a qualitative investigation, with ethnographic characteristics, carried out with baby teachers, working in daycare centers of the Municipal Public Education Network of the city of Fortaleza-CE in two different institutions.To construct data, individual semi-structured interviews were conducted, with the help of drawings made by the teachers and photographs also brought by the teachers. Data analysis was carried out in line with the research objectives and the studies that supported it, inspired by the Content Analysis technique (Bardin, 2011).The results of the analysis of the teachers' statements indicated that: the teachers conceive of the spaces/environments as distinct categories, facing difficulties in understanding their interrelationship; with regard to the planning and organization of these spaces/environments to attend the babies, different strategies and proposals are indicated, which are adapted according to the teachers' intentions and the children's needs. However, some of these actions are permeated by improvisation and require planning; in the teachers' perception, the modifications that are made to the spaces/environments of the daycare center interfere and have a direct impact on their actions and interactions with the babies, recognizing the need for the daycare center to be a place of enchantment, wonder, and discovery. The (in) conclusions of this work indicate the need for new investigations that favor the visibility of babies and their teachers, in addition, contribute to the expansion of knowledge of spaces/environments, consequently of their functionalities, uses and utilities, as curricular components that have immense relevance in pedagogical practices, impacting the integral development of babies in their first experience of formal education, in non-domestic environments, called daycare centers. The results of this study pave the way for other research that can expand knowledge and reflections on the functionality of spaces/environments and their potential to favor the integral development of babies. Furthermore, it highlights the need for teacher training and policies that value spaces/environments as a vital curricular component that makes up pedagogical practices.