TEACHER EDUCATION AND INCLUSION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: EVIDENCE FROM AN INSTITUTION IN DUQUE DE CAXIAS

Abstract

This article analyzes the relationship among teacher education, pedagogical practices, and institutional support for students who constitute the target population of special education in Early Childhood Education classes at an institution in Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro. It is an analytical excerpt from a dissertation completed in 2020, characterized as applied, qualitative, descriptive, non-experimental, and cross-sectional. Participants were nine teachers, one principal, and one pedagogical coordinator. Data were produced through open interviews and semi-structured questionnaires reviewed by three specialists and examined through reading, coding, thematic grouping, and categorical interpretation. Results show that only one teacher had specific education related to inclusion, none was attending a course in the field, and the institution did not maintain a systematic continuing education program. Conversely, playful practices, diversified activities, curricular adaptations, peer participation, and occasional support from mediators were identified. Under the current regulatory framework, the absence of structured specialized educational services, dependence on medical reports, and emphasis on individual teacher initiative are weaknesses. Teacher commitment and everyday experience are relevant, but they do not replace continuing education, institutional support, and inclusive pedagogical planning.