Mulheres professoras na educação infantil: identidade docente e representações sociais

Abstract

The constitution of teaching in early childhood care in Brazil has historically been marked by the predominance of women, constantly navigating contradictions between the professional and the feminine. In the municipality of Santa Quitéria do Maranhão–MA, until 2014, teaching in early childhood education was exclusively female, with changes only occurring in 2015 due to public examinations. Currently, the male presence in this stage of basic education remains proportionally low. In this context, it is crucial to reflect on how gender permeates the construction of early childhood education, highlighting not only the quantitative aspect of women in teaching, but also a socio-historical background that reinforces this space as being predominantly feminine. It is important to understand how female teachers perceive themselves as both women and professionals. Therefore, the guiding research question is: What representations do female teachers working in early childhood education in Santa Quitéria do Maranhão–MA have about being a woman teacher at this stage of education and its relation to the construction of their teaching identity? And, to what extent do these representations break with hierarchical structures? This research aims to analyze the representations that early childhood education teachers in Santa Quitéria do Maranhão–MA have about being a woman teacher at this stage of education and its relation to the construction of their teaching identity. The hypothesis is that representations can be understood as the forms and meanings of conceiving the world in social practices between subject and society, society and subject. These representations are developed in a space and time that confer modes of socialization and negotiations that maintain or break hierarchical structures in dynamic processes. It is understood that representations are related to the construction of identities and professional identities. The study draws on Louro (2007) and Nunes (2006) for studies on women and gender relations, within a post-structuralist feminist theory; Chartier (1990) for representations from the perspective of cultural history; and Dubar (2020) for the concept of identity and professional identities in the field of sociology. This is an exploratory research with a qualitative approach, selecting female teachers working in Early Childhood Education at the Manoel da Silva Costa Basic Education Unit in the municipality of Santa Quitéria do Maranhão–MA as participants. Data collection and analysis instruments include narrative interviews and conversations. The results revealed that female teachers predominantly have representations of female teaching in Early Childhood Education that are culturally associated with femininity. However, they see themselves as tenacious women who take a critical stance in society and position themselves as protagonists of their own stories. This reveals tensions in social representations, with traces of care and affection intertwined with their life trajectories, confrontations, representations of childhood, work experiences, and perceptions that make up their teaching identity. It is expected that this research will contribute to enabling female early childhood education teachers to reflect on their teaching identity as autonomous subjects of their own history, problematizing the gender relations that permeate discourses, symbols, and daily practices, and the implications of representations in the construction of teaching identity within a space of constant legal and social changes.