Curricular Strategies of Public Universities that Focus on Teaching English in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

This paper discusses English teacher education to work in early childhood education. The offer of English for this age group is an increasing reality in Brazilian contexts and, therefore, the demand for specific teacher education for this field is also expanding. Considering this scenario, a Master’s research was conducted with the aim of analyzing curricular proposals of majors in English and Literature in Brazilian Federal and State Universities, focused on initial education of teachers to work with children. After searching on the E-MEC website, 108 institutions were listed as part of the research. The documentary survey resulted in 15 universities with approaches that met the criteria established by the researchers, which also had significant contributions regarding the initiatives implemented in those universities. Moreover, with the goal of also investigating local realities, five institutions were invited to participate in an interview. Through reflections based on curricular theories, transdisciplinarity, teacher education and teaching English to young learners, the research offers a national overview and local aspects around the topic. Furthermore, the results point out to the possibilities of understanding English teacher education to work with children as a new space, closely related to the local context and marked by particularities.

Presenters

Ana Sara Galvao
Student, PhD Researcher, Federal University of Espírito Santo, UFES, Brazil

Claudia Kawachi Furlan
Professor, Languages and Literature Department (DLL), Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, Espírito Santo, Brazil

Details

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session

Theme

Early Childhood Learning

KEYWORDS

Education, Curriculum, Children