Initial teacher training for infant teaching: insights from faculty, students and alumni of the Pedagogy Program at the Federal University Ceará, Brazil

This article presents the findings of a study that aimed to analyze the contributions of the in-person Pedagogy course offered by the Faculty of Education at the Federal University of Cear & aacute; to the initial training of teachers for infant education. The study, conducted on the insights from faculty, students, and graduates of the course, was underpinned by a deep understanding of teacher training for Early Childhood Education and infant education, drawing upon seminal works in the field (Barbosa, 2010; Barbosa; Fochi, 2015; Kishimoto, 2005; Oliveira-Formosinho, 2001), and employing a qualitative research methodology. The case study conducted revealed significant gaps and shortcomings in the initial training provided by the Pedagogy program, particularly concerning its inability to adequately address the complexity and nuances of teaching practices with infants. Itwas evidentthatthe course offered limited opportunities, both within theformal curriculum and extracurricular activities, for Pedagogy students to delve deeply into crucial topics related to infant education and their development. Moreover, the study identified various weaknesses that undermine the quality of initial training for teaching with infants. These findings underscore the pressing need for curriculum reform and enhancement within the Pedagogy course. In the case of the focused course, the research indicated an urgent call for substantive changes to ensure that future educators graduating from this institution possess the requisite theoretical acumen and practical skills to deliver exemplary teaching to infants.