Letramento crítico-emocional na educação infantil: Em busca de uma práxis para uma educação democrática

Abstract

Considering school as an essential space for social transformation, this research aims to problematize the relationship between literacy based on critical thinking and affectivity and the formation of participative, autonomous, and socially aware students within their community. The research starts from the assumption that emotions and critical thinking are essential in Early Childhood Education, where children have their first formal contact with literacy. In this educational context, the study intends to investigate which emotions can enhance democracy and to what extent the school can promote them. To address these questions, I organized some of my experiences into a qualitative, autoethnographic study, presenting excerpts from my Field Diary and analyzing statements from teachers who work alongside me in a Municipal Early Childhood Education School in the city of Uberlândia. Applied Linguistics provided an investigative journey that allowed for reflection on my own development as a teacher-researcher, with a focus on the social needs that have always motivated me to stay in education. The data analysis allowed glimpsing how emotions influence relationships within the school and the way these relationships are established in a context that is more or less favorable to democracy. Love stood out among the emotions as one of the most effective facilitators of learners' maximum potential. The aim is for the research results to contribute to promoting genuinely fair education and inspire new studies on critical-emotional literacy.