Representações e práticas discursivas de professoras da Educação Infantil sobre as relações de gênero e sexualidade

Abstract

The aim of this research was to investigate how Early Childhood Education teachers from the Contagem-MG Municipal Education System deal with the sexual and gender diversity present in the school environment. The study derived from the intersections of the author's personal, maternal, familial, religious, and professional trajectories and aimed to uncover the representations that transform differences, notably in genders and sexualities, into inequalities in the educational process from Early Childhood Education onwards. The study is theoretically grounded in gender perspectives woven at the intersection of post-structuralist strands and cultural studies, with special attention to the concepts of children and childhoods, identity, gender and sexuality, and representations. This qualitative research was conducted using data collected through the consultation of guiding documents of Contagem city's Early Childhood Education policy, a questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews with teachers working with children aged four to six in Municipal Early Childhood Education Centers. The results indicated that a significant number of teachers seek to promote an inclusive and diverse environment in their practices. However, some of them still base their representations on a symbolic management of children according to cisheteronormative social standards, and their subtle discursive practices reflect homophobic conceptions within the school environment. Furthermore, the research contributed to the construction of an educational product, a requirement of the Professional Master's Degree in Education and Teaching (PROMESTRE), which consists of children's book, with an attached guide for teachers. This guide includes reflections on sexual diversity and suggests strategies to promote an education that is more committed to justice, diversity and respectful coexistence between all people, expanding socializing processes that positively impact children's experiences with gender and sexuality from their early years.