“Entre a intenção e o gesto”: o processo de municipalização das creches no município de Salvador-BA

Abstract

The research refers to the study of the municipalization process of day care centers in Salvador-BA. Anchored in studies on public policies for Early Childhood Education (Azevedo, 2004; Boneti, 2011; Souza, 2006; Vieira, 2007; Kuhlmann Jr, 2000; Rosemberg, 1999, 2014; Oliveira, 2011; Haddad, 2016; Aquino, 2015) and having the policy cycle (Bowe, Ball And Gold, 1992; Ball, 1994; Ball, Maguire and Braun, 2001; Mainardes, 2006, 2017, 2018; Ball And Mainardes, 2011) as a theoretical- methodological perspective, an attempt was made to recreate the political and historical course of the day care center and its municipalization in Salvador-BA, investigating whether or not the process of transferring day care centers from the state to the municipality of Salvador focused on the organization and inclusion of the day care center as a segment of public Early Childhood Education in the municipal education network of the aforementioned federal entity. To this end, an analysis of registration documents or documents directly related to municipalization and semi- structured interviews with professionals who actively participated in the process of transferring day care centers from state social assistance to municipal education in Salvador were carried out. The research revealed that municipalization constituted an important milestone in the history of day care centers in Salvador in the sense of establishing the educational character that it is due and was only made possible by the confluence of forces from different institutions and social segments. It was also identified that municipalization, as a phenomenon, was fundamental for the organization and inclusion of day care centers as a segment of public Early Childhood Education in the city. The survey data show, however, the obvious mismatch between the intention and the gesture with regard to the materialization of the day care center as a public policy and the constitutional right of children aged 0 to 3 years to education. It is concluded that the research indicates the importance of qualifying the political and institutional debate on the Soteropolitan daycare center, in the search for the definition of public policies that effectively reach children from 0 to 3 years old and guarantee them the fulfillment of their rights, needs and potencies.