Early years education in search for identity: a critical analysis of the "educare" slogan and the "anti-school" perspective

Abstract

This paper presents a critical analysis on the “educare” concept and the “anti-school” perspective in early years education, propositions which emerged in the Brazilian literature in the context of searching for the specificity of pedagogical practice directed to 0-6 year-old children. The argumentation intends to reveal that the “educare” slogan does not actually contribute to the understanding of the specificities of teaching 0-6 year-old children, as well as that the antischool perspective points to the dissolution of the frontiers between school-like education and other socialization agencies, impute secondary importance to the teacher’s work and carry a political compromise which diverge from poor families needs a nd interests. At last, it is presented a brief intervention report which supports the importance of comprehending the school for 0-6 year-old children as an institution that should socialize knowledge.