Session Information
SES B 07, Paper Session
Paper Session
Contribution
In Portugal, Early Childhood Education (ECE) has, throughout its history, suffered a number of advances and setbacks (Gomes, 1977; Cardona, 1997;Vilarinho, 2000). In middle of the 90’s, childhood education was in the forefront of the educational political agenda, defined as having a strategic role (OECD, 2001) and assumed to be the first level of Basic Education in a lifelong learning context (Law nº5/97). The political investment in ECE resulted in the enlargement of the number of ECE centres and the publication of national Curriculum Guidelines for ECE, presented as a reference of the pedagogical quality aimed for (Vasconcelos, 2009; ME, 1997). The ECE teachers were seen as professionals, developing the curriculum, committed to improving the learning of their students.
The required qualifications to be a basic education teacher (Early Childhood and Primary) were risen to the same as the rest of the educational system teachers (licenciate degree), which also strengthen the visibility and recognition of the early childhood teacher profession. In 2001, a professional profile common to all teachers was published stating the social function of teachers as teaching and recognizing a specific professional knowledge for teachers (Alarcão & Roldão, 2008:67; Rule-Decree 240/2001; Rule-Decree 241/2001).
Since the publication of the Early Childhood Curriculum Guidelines there was a boom in curricular materials offered by publishers; some of poor quality and even adulterating the constructivist pedagogical principles related to this guiding document (Vasconcelos, 2009:52). Some magazines offering suggestions for action and very specific materials (posters, numbers, letters, images, etc.) have a significant market power. Several ECE centres now display materials distributed with the magazines and ECE teachers seem to use the magazines as support for their pedagogical practices.
In this paper we’ll present an exploratory study aimed at addressing the role and influence of such materials as mediators in the curriculum development process in early childhood education and its contribution to support a flexible and integrated pedagogical practice. The study is being developed as part of a Master programme in the University of Minho, in the branch of Child Studies – Curriculum Development and Educational Innovation.
The study main aims are: to characterize the role of the curricular materials (produced by publishers) in supporting the curriculum development process in early childhood education; to identify the specific role of magazines in curriculum development process; to identify the underlying curriculum perspectives in the organization of the magazine with the bigger “sales quota” for the central region of Portugal; to analyze the early childhood teachers' opinions about the role and importance they assign to these magazines in the mediation/orientation of their own pedagogical practices; to withdraw implications about the potential and constraints of this type of editing/curricular management material to early childhood education.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
- Alarcão, I.; Roldão, M.C. (2008). Supervisão - Um contexto de desenvolvimento profissional dos professores. Mangualde: Edições Pedago - Bardin, L. (1979). Análise de conteúdo. Lisboa: Edições 70. - Bogdan, R.; Biklen, S. (2006). Investigação Qualitativa em Educação. Porto: Porto Editora. - Cardona, M. J. (1997). Para a História da Educação de Infância em Portugal: O discurso oficial (1834-1990). Porto: Porto Editora. - Decreto-Lei 240/2001, de 30 de Agosto [Aprova o perfil geral de desempenho profissional do educador de infância e dos professores dos ensinos básico e secundário]. - Decreto-Lei 241/2001, de 30 de Agosto [Aprova os perfis específicos de desempenho profissional do educador de infância e do professor do 1.º ciclo do ensino - Flick, U. (2005). Métodos Qualitativos na Investigação Científica. Monitor, Projectos e Edições, Lda. - Gomes, J. F. (1977). A Educação Infantil em Portugal: Achegas para a sua história. Coimbra: Almedina. - Lei n.5/97, de 10 de Fevereiro [Lei Quadro da Educação Pré-Escolar]. - Ministério da Educação. (1997). Orientações Curriculares para a Educação Pré-Escolar. Lisboa: ME/DEB/NEP. - OECD. (2001). Starting Strong – Early Education and Care. Paris: OCDE - Vasconcelos, T. (2009). A Educação de Infância no Cruzamento de Fronteiras. Lisboa: Texto. - Vilarinho, M.E. (2000). Políticas de Educação Pré-Escolar em Portugal (1988-1997). Lisboa: Instituto de Inovação Educacional.
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