Crianças focais: A triangulação educação-família-saúde na creche

Abstract

The research investigates the contributions or impediments that the partnership education-family-health can bring to the development of children who, during the first childhood, already bear significant differences in their actions and attitudes within collective environments like the day-care center. Four “focal children” were observed. The term “focal child”, which is not so commonly used in academic research, seeks to avoid prejudice against so young children, minimizing feelings of insecurity as well as the harmful precocious labeling among family and educators. At the same time, it provides both of them with a “bond”, with some support to handle the unexpected. Ever since Vygotsky’s researches, studies have endorsed the aspects of child development through the acknowledgement of the relevance of social interactions. The case study was the methodology chosen in order to investigate the partnerships due to the fact that it fit well into the proposal of the triangulation of the contexts. We sought to investigate the practices of educators through observations, interviews and reflexive sessions; relating them to the families’ line of speech via interviews and domiciliary observations as well as the health care professionals who attend the children (interviews and/or questionnaires). The research concluded that the interaction with the family and the access to the true information concerning the children’s health status are fundamental to allow the educational practice to be more efficiently performed in order to make for the full development of everyone involved in the process. The results indicate recommendations which can provide a guideline for educators as well as day-care principals intended for the inclusion of focal children and a better interlocutory approach between the family and the health care professionals who attend such children. The communication barrier with the health care professionals was one of the factors of uneasiness of the research as well as the low objectivity of the communication (information readiness) between the day-care center and the family.