THE HISTORICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION FIELD: A GENDER ISSUE

The construction of the history of Early Childhood Education in Brazil goes through educational models, pedagogical methods and a social organization that endure in contemporary times. In the literature survey to historicize the constitution of the Early Childhood Education field, it is possible to observe the delimitation of a context marked by gender identity: female. The historical construction of the Early Childhood Education field is crossed by motherhood: mothers who care, mothers who volunteer to care, mothers who fight for a place to leave their children while they work. In this context, the objective of this essay is to promote reflection on the predominantly female presence in Early Childhood Education as a historical-social construction. For that, we have traced the path of Early Childhood Education in Brazil, in a non-exhaustive way, contemplating Kindergartens, the first infant schools, day care centers, and also some legal official documents. Then, we bring to the dialogue contemporary studies from a bibliographic survey that deal with the theme, whose authors help us to reflect on the female presence in teaching in Early Childhood Education.