Quem tem medo do lobo mau?: inquietações e medos sobre o trabalho do homem na educação infantil

Abstract

This work, enrolled under Education, Society and Culture research field, from the Postgraduate Program in Education at PUC Goiás, aims to study the men presence and work in early Childhood Education. It takes, as a starting point, the tensions and dilemmas of teachers and assistants work in educational activities at Municipal Centers for Childhood Education in the cities of Goiânia and Aparecida de Goiânia. The study categories of this work started from the understanding of work, teaching work, gender and childhood. Based on the Dialectical Historical Materialism premises, these categories permeated the data analysis in order to conceive the nature phenomena and its method of studying them dialectically through historicity and contradiction. Thus, the categories of analysis that came out from the results of this study were: work, prejudice, strangeness, fear and ¿not belonging¿. Built under the aspect of a class and marginalizing society, it was sought to understand the dynamics of what is objective (work conditions) and subjective (ideologies) present in social life from the dialectic inclusion versus exclusion. In addition to the contributions of a critical study to the comprehension of Marx study categories (1985, 2010), other authors were essentials in elucidating the debate on the male teaching theme under the view of gender equality in early Childhood Education field: Carvalho (1999), Carvalho (2011), Freire (1996), Faria et al. (2011) Gomes (2013), Louro (1999, 2001, 2007 and 2008), Malaguzzi (2016), Martins Filho (2018, 2020), Pereira (2016), Pincinato (2007), Priori (2018), Sayão (2005), Silva (2014), Sousa (2015); and others. The methodological basis of this study was established on a qualitative research approach, in order to give turn and voice to men in early childhood education. However, as every voice is polyphonic, other subjects (managers and family) were also heard, as they are directly involved with children¿s care and education in public institutions where these professionals work. Thus, the results of this research started from the intersection of two sources: an online questionnaire which obtained the answer of 54 male professionals involved in early childhood education and interviews with 18 individuals (6 managers, 6 parents and 6 professionals). The interviews were conducted after the research questionnaire ended, and the 18 professionals who attended the interviews also volunteered to answer the questionnaire. The results lead to thoughts involving stereotypes, discrimination, judgment of values, fear and social devaluation of the place occupied by these men and their work in childhood education. Furthermore, these reflections contributed to the construction of the categories: work, prejudice, strangeness, fear and “not belonging”.