A afetividade como peça central para o desenvolvimento holístico de crianças na Educação Infantil: propostas de mediação

Abstract

In childhood, children explore the world in a nomadic way, creating collections of experiences. Therefore, Early Childhood Education, mandatory from the age of 4, should promote a welcoming and motivating school environment, favoring exploration and harmonizing the child's desire to learn with emotionally effective mediation strategies. At this stage, understanding cognitive, conative, and executive functions of learning is essential to prepare children for their educational journey and life. Additionally, affection is crucial, especially in kindergarten, where emotional interactions between teachers and students are fundamental for child development. This research aims to investigate effective mediation strategies in early childhood education, focusing on promoting affection as a fundamental element for the comprehensive development of children. The central inquiry addresses the impact of affection on cognitive, social, and emotional development in early childhood, seeking to enhance mediation strategies to create an inclusive learning environment. Therefore, the study emphasizes the importance of affection in forming cognitive, emotional, and social competencies, highlighting the influence of affectionate interactions between educators and children. The adopted methodology includes bibliographic-qualitative analyses, covering research in the PubMed and Redalyc databases. The first analysis focuses on the relationship between mediation and the Functional Triad of Learning, composed of cognitive, conative, and executive functions in early childhood education. The second analysis explores mediation strategies from an affective perspective, with an emphasis on inclusivity. The theoretical discussion emphasizes the central role of affection in the kindergarten context, where emotional interactions between teachers and children shape both academic performance and emotional well-being. Therefore, affection is considered a key factor in child development, influencing children's perception of school and learning. Furthermore, the importance of creating welcoming and motivating environments to promote positive educational experiences is highlighted. Regarding results, the research points to the need to improve mediation practices in early childhood education, recognizing the relevance of affection. The importance of evidence-based strategies to overcome challenges faced by educators in the effective incorporation of affection is emphasized. Additionally, the research seeks to contribute to educator training by providing practical guidelines and resources that enable the effective integration of affection in pedagogical practices. Longitudinal studies are suggested to understand the long-term impact of affective interactions on children's education and life through continuous monitoring.