Contextos e tramas da temática racial na educação infantil: a Lei n.º 10.639/03 e o exercício da PNEERQ no enfrentamento do racismo

Abstract

This research, developed within the Media, Communication and Education line of research (MEC), aims to understand whether Brazilian public educational policies address Anti-Racist Education in Early Childhood Education (ECE). Specifically, it seeks to: map the legislation related to Education for Ethnic-Racial Relations (ERER); analyze the place of Anti-Racist Education in ECE; examine news reports and digital media content that denounce practices of school racism; and develop a Guide with anti-racist literature for ECE teachers. The theoretical framework is based on Paulo Freire and dialectical materialism, which guide a critical reading of power relations in schools; on Silvio Almeida, with the concept of structural racism; on Nilma Lino Gomes, with the notion of the Black Educator Movement; and on Petronilha Gonçalves e Silva, a central formulator of ERER. These references provide political and epistemic depth to the analysis. The legal framework encompasses Law No. 10.639/03 and the National Policy on Equity, Education for Ethnic-Racial Relations and Quilombola School Education (PNEERQ), understood os its historical continuity. This research is justified because, despite the more than twenty years since Law 10.639/03 and the recent National Policy for the Eradication of Racial Equality (PNEERQ), obstacles persist, such as Eurocentric curricula (which still follow a colonizing logic), lack of continuing education, historical neglect of Early Childhood Education, and superficial readings of the Education of Racial Equality (ERE). Methodologically, this is a qualitative approach structured in three areas: bibliographic review; documentary analysis of legislation; and media analysis. The latter constitutes a strategic and politically incisive axis of the research. Although Law 10.639/03 mandates the teaching of Afro-Brazilian and African History and Culture, it does not explicitly include Early Childhood Education (ECE) as a mandatory stage, which has contributed to its historical marginalization. However, Opinion CNE/CP No. 3/2004 expressly states that all stages of education, including ECE, must address racial issues. The National Policy for Education in Racial Equality (PNEERQ) reaffirms this commitment by determining that anti-racist actions should occur from the earliest years of life. As a product of the research, a practical guide for ECE teachers is presented, with an intentional exploration entitled "Anti-Racist Treasure Chest: the map of the hidden treasure," composed of 14 anti-racist literary works made available by the PNLD/2025. The pedagogical proposal is playful, promoting a collective journey of literary exploration, strengthening anti-racist practices and expanding the construction of critical subjectivities. It is considered that ECE constitutes a strategic point in confronting racism. However, the legislation still faces concrete obstacles to its implementation. Naming, confronting, and preventing racism in childhood requires ongoing training, institutional commitment, and a break with Eurocentric and colonizing logics. The Educational Product, in this context, emerges as an instrument for the effective implementation of Law 10.639/03 and the National Policy for the Eradication of Racial Equality (PNEERQ), strengthening narratives of Black protagonism and broadening perspectives of social justice from the earliest years of schooling.