Qualidade na educação infantil no Recife como meio de consumo coletivo : discursos e práticas

Abstract

The collective consumption services of child care, more specifically daycare centers and preschools, or Early Childhood Education institutions, constitute themselves as use values, essential to the economic and social development, to the reproduction of the labor force and capital, and, especially, to the comprehensive development of children. However, the capitalist society has shown, throughout history, increasing difficulties to satisfy these needs. The studies identify the existence of a paradox: despite the promising scenario regarding the advances of concepts, models and the legislation related to Early Childhood Education since the re-democratization of the country, when children become subject of rights, there is a precariousness of public policies for early childhood education, especially related to the low standard of quality of the services provided by day care centers and preschools. Studies show that there is not only a deficiency in terms of supply of vacancies in childhood education institutions, but also in the physical infrastructures and equipments, as well as with the qualification of human resources. As strategies to deal with the problem of the precariousness of the policies in the field of early childhood education, the federal government, in accordance with its role of inductor of educational policies and proponent of guidelines for education, has published several papers focusing on real improvement of the quality of child education. The Ministry of Education summarized the main basis for monitoring the quality of early childhood education in two documents: the National Quality Parameters for Early Childhood Education (2006) and Quality Indicators in Early Childhood Education (2009). These documents contain key references for the organization, operation, supervision, control and examination to be used by day care centers, preschools and Early Childhood Education centers, aiming a real improvement in the quality of early childhood education for all Brazilian children between 0 and 6 years old. In this direction, the study aims to analyze whether the documents National Quality Parameters for Early Childhood Education and Quality Indicators for Early Childhood Education, have become effective instruments towards the adoption of measures that aim to improve the quality of Children's Education in the sphere of the institutions of Early Childhood Education in the city of Recife-PE. The qualitative approach, the case study and the social representations were adopted as the method of analysis. The subjects were composed by management and pedagogical coordinators of day care centers, preschools, and Municipal Child Education Centers, as well as the teachers and assistants of these institutions in the city of Recife-PE. From the analysis of the social representations of these workers about the problem studied, the results show generalized limitations. Barriers that go beyond the non-compliance of the implementation of the National Quality Parameters for Early Childhood Education and the non-use of quality indicators in early childhood education as self-assessment tool for such institutions. The distance between what these documents propose and the current legislation aiming to assure the quality of early childhood education continues to be characterized, at this stage of education, unfortunately, without the priority that must be given, above all, as an absolutely indispensable mean of collective consumption promoting full development of children, the reproduction of the labor force and economic and social development of the country.