A ORGANIZAÇÃO DO ESPAÇO ESCOLAR

CONTRIBUIÇÕES PARA A LIBERTAÇÃO/APRISIONAMENTO DOS CORPOS INFANTIS

Abstract

There is a notable relationship between the organization of school space and the forms of control or freedom experienced by children's bodies. Historically, it has been observed that, for many years, the physical arrangement of the school was considered secondary in the educational process, disregarding the impact that such organization exerts on the experience, movements, and body awareness of children. This research was developed in a public early childhood education school in Teresina-PI, focusing on the initial years of elementary school. An ethnographic approach was used, and data were collected through participant observation and interviews with three teachers. During the process, it was found that the way the school space is organized substantially and directly affects the physical development of children, influencing their self-perception and the relationship they establish with the school environment. In this sense, by analyzing how the organization of space can contribute to the confinement or liberation of children's bodies, and what the repercussions of this aspect are for the educational process as a whole, the need to rethink the structuring of the school environment became apparent, reformulating pedagogical practices and modes of action of education professionals, in order to promote spaces that favor the integral development, autonomy, and free expression of children. The research thus points to the urgency of school policies and teacher training that value the body as a fundamental dimension of learning and existing, contributing to a more humane, sensitive, and emancipatory education.