Práticas na transição da educação infantil para o ensino fundamental: um estudo de caso do Appia

Abstract

The transition from Early Childhood Education (ECE) to Elementary Education (EE) is a phase fraught with changes that can impact the educational process. In light of this issue, the Belo Horizonte Municipal Department of Education proposes the Appia Project: A Glimpse at Childhood. This project, set to be implemented in schools by their respective professionals, aims to integrate ECE and EE, facilitating the interaction of children aged three to eight years in the same educational environment. The focus of this research is the transition process from ECE to EE. Hence, the object of study are the practices implemented to promote integration between the first two stages of basic education. Accordingly, the research aims to understand the practices that have been developed from the perspective of transition at a municipal school in Belo Horizonte for the purpose of integrating the educational process. Guided by the perceptions of educators, the research seeks to map the developed practices to articulate the transition process, identify the action logic of the professionals, and the organizational culture that emerges at the school. Furthermore, the power relationships established between ECE and EE are discussed. The results are systematized into an Ebook, which categorizes the strategies into suggestions for optimizing the transition between ECE and EE. The case study incorporates semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, non-participant observation, and field diary records. The discussion is based on the school organizational culture under the bias of the duality of structure (TORRES, 2005), the possible relationships between ECE and EE (MOSS, 2008, 2011), as well as the peculiarities of the transition process. The results suggest that the professionals at the investigated school develop pedagogical strategies such as ongoing training, structuring of time and spaces, and the adoption of dialogic management. It is noted that strategies directed towards the students are also developed, highlighting graduation and school adaptation projects. The data revealed challenges, including the dichotomy between the curricula of ECE and EE, the need to sustain intersectoral dialogue, and the management of flexible groups. It is concluded that the Appia Project: A Glimpse at Childhood is an innovative initiative that has contributed to the mobilization of professionals to reflect and produce pedagogical practices that favor the transition process. However, challenges that transcend teaching practice, such as the curricular dichotomy and flexible groups, remain prevalent.