Weaving Free Childhoods: Family, School, and the Intersection of Antiracist Upbringing and Pedagogy
Early childhood education. Anti-racism. Family. Escrevivência. Action research. Autoethnography.
This dissertation aims to analyze the importance of family participation in the educational process, especially in strengthening anti-racist pedagogical practices in early childhood education. The research focuses on the experiences of the Child Development Centers (Espaços de Desenvolvimento Infantil – EDI) Professor Carlos Falseth and Cônego Fernandes Pinheiro, investigating how anti-racist pedagogical work is developed in these contexts, considering the activities carried out, the teaching materials used, and the involvement of the school community. The goal is to understand the perceptions of parents, guardians, children, and educators regarding anti-racist education and its implications for citizenship formation from early childhood. The methodology adopted combines escrevivência, a concept proposed by Conceição Evaristo, as a tool to value personal and collective experiences shaped by social markers such as race, gender, and class; action research, as described by Tripp (2005), which enables critical reflection on pedagogical practice in dialogue with the individuals involved; and autoethnography, according to Magalhães (2018), as a resource to analyze the researcher’s experience in the investigated context, based on her lived experiences as an educator and Black woman. Furthermore, the study examines the interaction between the school and families regarding anti-racist practices, identifying points of convergence and divergence, especially in cases where family education requires a greater understanding of the ethnic-racial relations addressed within the school environment. The research highlights the relevance of inclusive and equitable education, grounded in dialogue between school and family, as a means to combat racism from the earliest years of schooling.