Ambientes educativos como mobilizadores da curiosidade epistemológica

Abstract

This qualitative research, based on participant observation and ethnographic inspiration, aimed to understand the conditions that foster the development of epistemological curiosity in five-year-old children through their experiences in learning environments inspired by Freinet's pedagogy. The research was conducted at a private school in the municipality of Santos, São Paulo, with a group of eight children enrolled in the final stage of Early Childhood Education. Data collection was conducted through systematic records of interactions, observations, and everyday dialogues, in contexts intentionally organized to promote child empowerment, inquiry, and peer collaboration. The guiding research question was: "What are the possibilities of Freinet-inspired learning environments for triggering epistemological curiosity in five-year-old children?" The analysis was guided by the frameworks of Paulo Freire, especially regarding the valorization of critical curiosity and the role of the educator as a mediator of knowledge, and by Célestin Freinet, regarding the organization of pedagogical environments based on freedom, cooperation, and the living work of childhood. It also engages with the contributions of Júlia Formosinho, who reinforces the importance of listening, research in everyday school life, and the participation of children as protagonists in the educational process. The results revealed that, when invited to investigate, raise hypotheses, and propose creative solutions to the challenges experienced in these environments, children demonstrated high engagement, autonomy, and depth in their ways of thinking and acting. The observations analyzed indicate that sensitive, investigative, and aesthetically provocative pedagogical environments foster the transformation of naive curiosity into epistemological curiosity, expanding the possibilities for a more critical, dialogical early childhood education committed to listening to children.