Between gestures and babbling: A study about educator mediation in communication with babies developed in the nursery.
Nursery; communicative processes; baby education; human development
We present here an investigation proposal on the work of baby educators. In this proposal, we draw attention to the historical predominance of welfare practices in day care centers. We evaluated this scenario and started discussions about the urgency of changes, with steps towards the effective recognition of day care centers as the first stage of basic education. In these discussions, we alert to the need for adequate preparation of the baby educator. In the foundations of this proposal, we make propositions, still preliminary, about the relationship between communicative processes and child development, considering that this relationship is a necessary aspect for the characterization of the educational act carried out in day care centers. We argue that underlying this relationship lies ethical and political issues, which are still neglected in the services offered by these early childhood education institutions. Based on these assumptions, we propose a case study, with the aim of investigating conceptual strategies used by educators to interpret the communication of babies during their stay in daycare. In the methodological procedures, we included documental analysis, with a view to information on national guidelines for the operation of day care centers and three workshops for each participating educator, which we expect to be eight in number. The activities of the workshops were planned to foster written and oral narratives of the participants related to three different topics: a) how to interpret the babies' communication; b) about the communicative processes in conflict situations involving babies and c) about the qualities needed by the teacher of babies. The workshops will be held remotely, also complying with guidelines to contain the dissemination of COVID-19.