DIDACTICS IN PRESCHOOL AND ITS CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHILDREN'S HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Didactics is one of the main elements guiding pedagogical practice in Early Childhood Education, as it organizes learning experiences, encourages interactions, and enables children to actively participate in the construction of knowledge. In preschool, this organization becomes even more relevant because child development occurs in an integrated manner, involving cognitive, emotional, social, motor, and cultural dimensions. This study aims to analyze the contributions of didactics to children's holistic development in preschool, considering the teacher's role, the organization of educational spaces, and the intentionality of pedagogical practices. This is a qualitative bibliographic study based on literature concerning Early Childhood Education, child development, and didactics, as well as official educational documents. The discussion indicates that pedagogical practices grounded in the specific characteristics of childhood broaden learning opportunities by valuing play, social interactions, children's voices, and teacher mediation. The expected results indicate that didactics goes beyond the selection of teaching methods, representing an intentional process of organizing educational experiences that contributes to children's holistic development. It is also expected that this study will encourage reflections on improving pedagogical practices in preschool and stimulate further research in the field of Early Childhood Education.