THE ROLE OF THE EDUCATOR: EDUCATION OF CHILDREN FROM ZERO TO THREE YEARS OLD

2.ª edição

Abstract

PRESENTATION

This study reflects the importance of having a qualified educator in the education of children aged zero to three. This requires that they have knowledge about the concept of children that has been historically constructed. This knowledge allows the teacher to understand how the development and learning process of children happens, so that they can provide them, in their educational practices, with significant stimuli, in order to always aim for the child's integral development.

The concepts of childhood constructed throughout history show us different perspectives on children, according to their historical moment. In contemporary times, we consider that there is no single concept of a child, as it starts from a social construction created by the child and for the child, in a set of social relations. Even though childhood is a biological fact, as it is understood, it is socially determined. This way there are many children and childhoods. From this analysis, I became interested in focusing on teaching and learning practices in the first years of childhood, as the young child emerges as a co-builder from the beginning of life.

The objective of this book is to encourage reflection on the role of the educator in the education of children from zero to three years of age. To do this, we will discuss the development and learning of children from zero to three years of age, which corresponds to the first year of life and early childhood. , inseparable from the intentional and systematized educational process, based on knowledge of the child's development according to the assumptions of Vygotsky's Historical-Cultural Theory and its precursors.

In this book, we seek to understand the concept of childhood and the regularities of child development, aiming to contribute to educational practice being permeated by scientific knowledge on the part of educators, and the awareness that their intentional and systematized action can reflect the maximum possibilities of child development.

The proposal leads to a discussion about young children, both in terms of the concept that was historically constructed, and their physical and cognitive development. It aims to understand why children aged zero to three are often assisted with their physical needs and forget that they are subjects of learning by the educator. How the environment must be organized for children’s learning to be meaningful. How to organize educational practice so that the child is an active, critical and reflective individual?

In this sense, some fundamental assumptions are presented for understanding the correlation between education and human development. Among them are the premise of demonstrating that development simultaneously involves emotion and cognition, giving an inseparable meaning to development/learning; identify educational practices in the first year of life and early childhood as a means of comprehensively training the child, in order to promote their physical, cognitive and social development.

In chapter 1, we address the concept of children and childhood throughout history, which is linked to the culture in which they live and also to the society that adults create for them, thus suffering the influences of their time. And how the development and learning process happens, showing that they are inseparable and occur simultaneously.

In chapter 2, the main concepts of child development from zero to three years old were explained, focusing on adult mediation from birth to early childhood.

In chapter 3, we highlight the role of the educator and his practices in education from zero to three years old, as it is up to him to have knowledge of the child development process so that his experiences with children provide meaningful learning.

Finally, the Conclusions are presented.