O corpo da criança pequena no currículo da educação infantil: uma análise do documento curricular de Uberlândia à luz das categorias freireanas

Abstract

This research was developed within the Graduate Program in Education at the Federal University of Uberlândia (PPGED/UFU), in the Research Line Knowledge and Educational Practices. It addresses the teaching of the body in Early Childhood Education, taking as its object of study the Municipal Curriculum Guidelines for Early Childhood Education of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is guided by the following research problem: What conceptions of body teaching underlie the pedagogical orientations contained in the Municipal Curriculum Guidelines for Early Childhood Education of Uberlândia, and how do the Freirean categories of freedom, autonomy, and experience permeate this document? The general objective is to analyze the conceptions of body teaching present in the Municipal Curriculum Guidelines for Early Childhood Education of Uberlândia (MG) based on the Freirean categories of freedom, autonomy, and experience. The specific objectives are: to discuss the conception of the child as a subject of rights and culture; to understand curriculum as a territory of political and sensitive disputes; to characterize the historical and institutional context of Early Childhood Education in the municipal school system of Uberlândia, situating the Municipal Curriculum Guidelines as the central object of analysis; and to identify how the categories of freedom, autonomy, and experience are expressed throughout the document. To achieve these objectives, a qualitative documentary research approach was adopted, based on the analysis of the Municipal Curriculum Guidelines for Early Childhood Education of Uberlândia (2020), supported by Paulo Freire's theoretical framework and by studies on curriculum, childhood, and corporeality. The dissertation is organized into five chapters: the first presents the introduction, research problem, and methodological procedures; the second discusses curriculum, childhood, the body, and the Freirean categories that support the study; the third characterizes the historical and institutional context of Early Childhood Education in Uberlândia; the fourth presents the documentary analysis of the Municipal Curriculum Guidelines; and the fifth presents the final considerations. The findings indicate that the Municipal Curriculum Guidelines promote a conception of the body grounded in experience, expression, autonomy, and children's participation. However, the analysis also reveals that the instruments used to monitor children's development emphasize aspects related to organization, adequacy, and body control, revealing the coexistence of different conceptions of corporeality within the curriculum and reinforcing the need to understand it as a territory of disputes and educational intentionalities.