Gênero e educação infantil: análise do trabalho pedagógico em uma pré-escola municipal do Oeste Paulista

Abstract

In accordance with the research theme, "Educational Institution: organization and management", of the Master of Education Program of the University of West São Paulo, the purpose of this research paper is to study how pedagogical practices are developed with regard to gender relations in a preschool. Our specific objectives are: to understand the perception preschool teachers have of gender relations and how these perceptions permeate pedagogical planning; to determine whether the proposed pedagogical activities for children contribute to the construction of social gender differences between boys and girls; and to identify possible gender transgressions presented by the children themselves. With the support of poststructuralist gender studies, we conducted an ethnographic case study. Through participant observation, a research journal, group conversations with the children, photographic records and semi-structured interviews with teachers and administrators, we identified the relationships between the teachers’ knowledge, gender and power. These relationships permeate the organization of pedagogical practices within preschool education. We elaborated our analysis from three points of interest: 1) understanding gender and its relationships from the educators’ perspective; 2) gender and the organization of schoolwork, as well as the use of the physical learning environment; 3) resistance and transgressions: expanding the meaning of masculinity and femininity. Pedagogical practices, if they remain unchecked, promote an education which in general separates male and female spheres. This separation begins with culturally formulated discourses which are sexist and institute ways to classify subjects. The absence of teacher training with regard to gender impacts the current education scenario. This professional unpreparedness can cause conceptual conflicts and lead teachers to incorporate personal values in their pedagogical practices. However, we noticed that even in a normalizing environment, children subvert the rules and create innovative ways to establish relationships with the world and with others.