Corporeality as a structuring axis

paths toward the consolidation of learning rights proposed by the BNCC

Resumo

Early childhood education, the initial stage of basic education, is organized around play and interaction, which are considered fundamental pillars, following the guidelines of the National Common Core Curriculum (BNCC). However, children's physical experiences are still often addressed in a limited way, focusing only on practical or disciplinary activities. This article is an analytical excerpt from the thesis “Corporeality as a phenomenon, meaning, and expression of the body,” whose objective was to analyze how corporeality contributes to guaranteeing children's learning rights and to its implementation as a structural axis of Early Childhood Education, in light of the BNCC guidelines. This excerpt focuses on the category “The corporeal child as a subject of experience,” constructed through content analysis and emerging from semi-structured interviews and observations recorded in a field diary. The research followed a qualitative approach, with empirical data produced from observations during physical education classes in five schools in Porto Alegre and one in Viamão, involving five physical education teachers and 69 children. The results showed that children's bodily expressions reflect their learning, ways of being, and ways of inhabiting the world, and are deeply influenced by the teacher's gaze. It can be concluded that shifting the perspective of the body from a mere instrument to the foundation of learning is a prerequisite for it to be recognized as a structuring axis, valuing childhood as an experience, language, and production of knowledge.