Ampliação do ensino fundamental para nove anos e a inclusão aos seis anos de idade

Abstract

This work aims to investigate how the nine years’ elementary education expansion is being implemented and how the six years old children inclusion is being done at the Lívia Menna Barreta and Santa Helena municipal schools of elementary education in Santa Maria, Brazil. Based on the law n. 11.114/05, whereby it becomes mandatory to start elementary school at six years old and on the law n. 11.274/06, which regulates the nine years’ elementary education and guarantees to the six years old child the right to formal education, we seek to identify the difficulties encountered by managers during the implementation of this new policy, check if curricular changes are occurring to fit in this new structure, if there is an effective participation of the school community in this restructuring, if the managers are aware of the public policies and, if in this inclusion process, are being observed the physical, psychological, social and intellectual aspects of the child. For this purpose, the research was developed through a qualitative approach, bibliographical consultations and case studies. The data was obtained by questionnaires administered to managers (principal and teachers) of those schools. The research reveals that there is a need for greater knowledge by the school managers about the public policies that guides the elementary school’s expansion, for an effective implementation in the school management reorganization that will enable a greater participation of school community at the school decisions, the need of a political pedagogical project that beyond considering the legal requirements, will also achieve the educational precepts proposed by various segments of the school community and that is faced to the child. We know that the implications and pedagogical challenges to make this inclusion to happen are great, since we can’t just pass contents forward and activities traditionally worked in the first grade to six years old children, but there is a need to rethink the structure and school culture, performing a contextualized increase, focused on the skill development, training of citizens and a construction of knowledge.