Por uma educação infantil antirracista: formação continuada de professoras no município de Niterói

Abstract

This dissertation is linked to the Research Line “Teacher Education, History, Memory, and Educational Practices” of the Graduate Program in Education: Formative Processes and Social Inequalities at the Faculty of Teacher Education of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (PPGEDU/FFP/UERJ). The central objective of the research was to investigate the continuing education of Early Childhood Education teachers in the municipal school system of Niterói, with a focus on Education on Ethnic-Racial Relations (ERER), from the perspective of an anti-racist education. The study is based on the assumption that in-service continuing education is a right of education professionals and a fundamental condition for the implementation of Laws No. 10.639/2003 and No. 11.645/2008, which mandate the teaching of Afro-Brazilian, African, and Indigenous History and Culture at all levels of basic education. The theoretical framework is anchored in the contributions of Paulo Freire, whose concept of critical and emancipatory education is central; Antonio Gramsci, with his understanding of the school as a space of hegemonic dispute; and the formative conception of the National Common Base of ANFOPE, which integrates education and professional appreciation. Authors such as Nilma Lino Gomes, Kabengele Munanga, Bárbara Carine, among others, also contributed to the discussion on the importance of Black representation, historical reparation, and the curriculum as a political and cultural space. This qualitative research was based on the documentary analysis of the Political Pedagogical Projects (PPPs) of Municipal Early Childhood Education Units in Niterói, specifically those that participated in training sessions offered by the Coordination of Education in Difference (CEDIF) between 2021 and 2023, as well as interviews with CEDIF trainers to achieve the research objectives. The analyzed training sessions demonstrated efforts to promote critical reflection among teachers and to foster more inclusive pedagogical practices, grounded in ancestry, diversity, and difference. The analysis of the PPPs revealed that, although there is an intentional effort to incorporate ERER into the curriculum, many practices remain sporadic and poorly systematized, hindering the consolidation of anti-racist education in everyday school life. We conclude that continuing education in ERER must be understood as a permanent public policy, aligned with the specificities of schools and offered systematically, ensuring adequate time and working conditions for teachers. This represents an educational commitment that must be undertaken by public education systems.