"O QUE PENSAM AS CRIANÇAS ASSENTADAS ACERCA DO PAPEL DO PROFESSOR DE EDUCAÇÃO INFANTIL DO CAMPO, OU: SOBRE O DIREITO DA PARTICIPAÇÃO POLÍTICA DOS PEQUENOS"

Abstract

This text presents the results of a study linked to the Research Line “Educational practices, teacher training – educators in school and non-school spaces”, of the Postgraduate Master's Program in Education at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul – Pantanal Campus. The investigation had as general objective to apprehend how the settled children think about the role of the Early Childhood Education teacher in the countryside. As specific objectives, we have: to identify the teacher's identity characteristics perceived by the children of the settlement; understand the perceptions of settled children about the role of teacher in early childhood education; to discuss the importance and necessity of listening to the child and political participation in the elaboration of proposals for teacher training for early childhood education in the countryside. The study assumes that promoting child participation requires, in the first place, teachers who understand children as competent informants, capable of expressing ideas and opinions, of making choices and making decisions. Second, adults who are able to hear and perceive children in their different languages; listening to them, taking their ideas and opinions into account in decision-making processes, and at school planning pedagogical actions based on children's needs and providing feedback on actions taken. Listening to them about what they think about the identity of the rural teacher can support teacher training to work with this audience, in order to meet their specific demands, considering their ways of being and role in the world, valuing peasant culture. Regarding the methodology, a qualitative research approach is adopted, framing according to the objectives as exploratory, since it aims to understand what the settled children think/speak about the role of the Early Childhood Education teacher in the countryside. With regard to the procedures, it is a case study and, according to the sources of information, it is constituted as a field or empirical one, since it has been carried out within the context in which the children are inserted, namely, the settlement. To this purpose, 05 children aged between 04 and 06 years old participate in the research, who in 2020 were enrolled in the Early Childhood Education of the Rural Municipal School of Integral Education Monte Azul, located in the Taquaral Settlement, in the Municipality of Corumbá- MS and agreed to participate in the study. As instruments for collecting the information were adopted: recorded conversations with the children, associated with the production of drawings (produced by the children) and games. It is also worth mentioning that, although the methodological approach was previously thought out, adjustments were made during the study in order to adapt to the needs and desires expressed by the participating/collaborating children, as well as to enable the study to be carried out during the pandemic period. Data analysis was carried out using the Bakhtinian theory of discourse analysis as a reference, and to ensure ethics in the treatment of the information obtained — without imposing an adult-centric view — meetings were also held to provide children with the organized data, both obtained from conversations and drawings. The study showed that children not only want and have the competence to participate politically, but also revealed that their opinions show concern for the common good, with collective issues. As for the teachers, the children indicate the demand for professionals with specific training, who understand the indispensability of care in Early Childhood Education; to organize pedagogical proposals based on playing; that they are able to listen to them, understanding and valuing their ways of being and thinking about the world; that value the culture of the rural people and present educational proposals that contemplate the reality of children in this context. In regard to attitudes that they consider inappropriate for the teaching profession, they were listed: punishing, fighting, passing difficult tasks, such as actions that cannot be present in teaching practice, especially in Early Childhood Education, as they do not make sense to them. , in addition to harming and/or hindering its full development. It is concluded, therefore, that children, in addition to being competent to give opinions and contribute politically in society, want to actively participate in everyday life in the different spaces they occupy; they have a lot to tell us about the most different topics, including their education and can bring great contributions to thinking about school and teacher training from the perspective of children. It is also evident the importance of the presence of research with children in the initial and continuing education of teachers, to train teachers who are capable and sensitive to listen to them properly, stimulating their political participation.