“É cansativo, mas é bom” : dizeres e fazeres de professoras sobre o corpo na docência com bebês

Abstract

This master's research had as its object of study the body when teaching babies. The research problem established was the following: what are the perceptions of teachers from a nursery in Campina Grande/PB about the body when teaching with babies? As a way of answering this question, a qualitative case study research was carried out (Bogdan; Biklen, 1994; Sarmento, 2003) with the general objective of analyzing the perceptions of teachers from a nursery in Campina Grande/PB about the body when teaching with babies. Data production took place through participant observation in a nursery 1 class with three teachers and 13 babies in a public daycare center in the city of Campina Grande/PB. During the immersion in the field, audiovisual records were made, with photographs and video recordings, and in a field notebook. In addition, individual interviews were carried out with the teachers and a focus group with all of them later, discussing aspects related to the body in teaching with babies aiming to reveal their perceptions on the subject. The data produced was organized and analyzed using the content analysis technique (Bardin, 2011). As a theoretical reference, the studies by Teixeira (1996; 2007) and Tardiff and Lessard (2014) were used to understand the world of teaching. Teaching with babies was analyzed from authors such as Buss-Simão e Silva (2023), Bittencourt (2020), Silva (2018), Sabbag (2017), Demétrio (2016), Schmitt (2014) and Duarte (2011). The categories created from the analysis of the material collected in the field were: The teacher's body in the daily life of teaching with babies; The body as a mediator of relationships and affections between teachers and babies; and Implications of the material and objective conditions of teaching for the teacher's body and perceptions. The results revealed that teachers develop some body techniques to carry out routine demands with babies, especially in relation to feeding, hygiene and sleep. These techniques are shared among them in the daily practice of teaching. The body proved to be central in the exercise of teaching with babies, both in the execution of pedagogical activities and in the role of mediator of relationships between subjects. This mediation demands bodily availability from teachers and causes physical exhaustion that impacts both teaching and their personal lives. The objective conditions for teaching, such as workload, remuneration and the physical space of the institution, were shown to be highly influential factors in the emergence of bodily wear and tear among teachers, and the institutional and bureaucratic routine emerged as a factor with a strong implication in the teachers' work with babies, as well as the impact of teaching on their bodies.