Family and School: Challenges for the Creation of a New Way of Looking at Work with Early Childhood in the Education Network of the City of Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

There is much to be explored about the relationship of families with school regarding the use of educational institutions for children up to six and the effective co-responsibilities in the whole development of the child. Analyzing aspects of this which permeate public institutions for Early Childhood Education was the focus of this research, which discusses types of access, the expectations of families and actors involved with public institutions in the network of schools in the city of Rio de Janeiro, and the educational and social function of this stage of learning. The article focuses on the inclusion of children in the educational institution, based on on-site observation in two public institutions that use differentiated policies for child care: the first, under the aegis of the Full Early Childhood Program (“PIC”) targeting children up to three; the second being developed in the Child Development Center (“EDI”) conceived as a new model for early childhood education, bringing together in the same space children up to six. In addition to observing these two policies for working with children, school administrators and families were interviewed. It transpires that, in some situations, the school adopts attitudes that reinforce social and cultural differences; in others, the school is working towards maximizing its ability to produce new ways of giving quality care to the population.