Bringing together different teaching degrees to promote the practice of motor activity in an Early Childhood Education public school.

Abstract

Brazilian laws for education offer the presence of teachers with different backgrounds to work in schools of Early Childhood Education (ECE) and official documents suggest the practice of motor activities; however, schools of Early Childhood Education offer routines with few opportunities for such practice. The purpose of this study is to establish a dialogue between educators and Physical Education (PE) teachers to promote motor activities in schools of ECE. This is an action research involving four school teachers, their students, the school coordinator and three teachers of Physical Education. The teachers met on a weekly basis for a joint planning and there were four encounters with the parents; 52 systematic sessions and 40 free practice sessions were also offered during two semesters. The activities were registered in a field journal and in pictures. Children practiced motor skills such as walking, running, groveling, crawling and balancing with or without music and manipulated objects stimulating their sensory pathways. In their statements, educators said that the lack of knowledge on motor activity and child development inhibited them in the provision of these, and Physical Education teachers reported they had little experience with this age group. The dialogues enabled the provision of motor activities and the improvement of knowledge and experiences. It is concluded that interdisciplinarity can stimulate the practice of motor activities at this school level.