Educação infantil do e no campo: a oferta de educação infantil para crianças que residem em áreas rurais de um município do brejo paraibano.

Abstract

The object study that guided this research was the offering of Early Childhood Education for children living in rural areas of a municipality from Paraíba's marsh. Its general aim was to understand the service organization of Countryside Early Childhood Education and its relation to the right to education. The specific objectives were: to know the reality of Child Education offering for children living in rural areas of a municipality from Paraíba's marsh; to identify challenges and strategies used by this municipality's Education Secretariat in order to offer Early Childhood Education for children living in rural areas; and, to contribute with teacher's training path, in support to the Education Secretariat, approaching, among others, themes related to the improvement of both offering and conditions of permanence of Early Childhood Education's children from rural areas. Research's subjects were: Education Municipal Secretary, President of Education Municipal Council, and the three coordinators of Early Childhood Education (one coordinator of Early Childhood Education groups in multiphase context and two coordinators for groups of regular Early Childhood Education — urban and rural). The research was based on references of Early Childhood Education, Countryside Education, and Countryside Early Childhood Education with emphasis on discussions about offering. From a methodological point of view, this research was configured as qualitative, field, and documental, using as tools for data collection a form — which was applied with the Education Secretary — and semistructured interviews, carried out with the secretary, three coordinators of Early Childhood Education, and the Municipal Education Council President. Data collected were analyzed in the light of Thematic Analysis, one of modalities of Content Analysis. The themes analyzed were: 1. Offering organization; 2. Countryside Early Childhood Education offering; 3. Offering’s challenges during Pandemics; 4. Training of teachers working at Early Childhood Education on urban and rural areas; 5. Municipal Education Council and its role in organizing the offering of municipality’s Early Childhood Education. Analysis revealed that despite the twenty-first century bringing in its scope legal conquers towards guaranteeing the right to education for small children living in country's rural areas, there are, in the researched municipality, challenges to be faced, such as access, quality, and acknowledgement of specificities related to childhood, pedagogical practices, and culture of countryside children. It seemed, still, necessary to advance in the concrete plan of policies, planning, and pedagogical practices of Countryside Early Childhood Education.