ASSESSMENT OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN THE HOSPITAL SETTING: REVISITING THE STATE OF THE ART REGARDING SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE, PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES, AND THE HUMANIZATION OF CARE FOR HOSPITALIZED CHILDREN

Abstract

This article presents the results of a state-of-the-art bibliographic research, whose purpose is to map, analyze, and systematize the scientific production related to early childhood education in the hospital environment, with an emphasis on pedagogical practices and the processes of humanizing care for hospitalized children. To constitute the corpus of analysis, selection criteria were established that included scientific articles, dissertations, theses, and works published in journals and academic events that directly addressed the theme of hospital education in childhood. Studies published in Portuguese and fully available in recognized academic databases such as the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD), Google Scholar, the CAPES Journals Portal, and other specialized sources in the field of Education were considered. To search for the studies, descriptors such as "hospital early childhood education," "hospital pedagogy," "hospitalized child," "hospital humanization," "pedagogical practices," and "education in a hospital environment" were used, combined using Boolean operators. The selected studies were subjected to exploratory, selective, and analytical reading, seeking to identify objectives, theoretical frameworks, methodologies employed, and main results found. The analysis allowed the organization of the productions into thematic categories, making it possible to understand the contributions of the literature to the consolidation of the field of hospital education. The panorama of the research found shows a gradual growth in investigations on early childhood education in a hospital context, highlighting the importance of the continuity of the educational process during hospitalization. The main theoretical approaches identified focus on defending the right to education, valuing learning mediated by play activities, and the relevance of pedagogical support for the cognitive, emotional, and social development of the hospitalized child. The studies analyzed also highlight the importance of interdisciplinary work among educators, health professionals, and family members, emphasizing humanization as a central element for promoting children's well-being. However, the review revealed significant gaps, especially related to the scarcity of long-term empirical research, the limited production on evaluation processes in hospital education, and the need for theoretical deepening on the pedagogical practices developed in different hospital contexts. These aspects indicate the need to expand research in the area, contributing to the strengthening of public policies and educational practices aimed at hospitalized children.