Infants exploratory activity in adaptation process to daycare: case studies in Brazil

• Grant number: 16/24466-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: November 01, 2017
• End date: February 28, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Human Development Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Katia de Souza Amorim
• Grantee: Natália Meireles Santos da Costa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Infants' exploratory ability is an important feature that allows: contact with surroundings; attention to specific stimuli; information gathering about the environment; and, over time, infants actions might be modified according to such information. In a reality in which babies have been increasingly enrolled in daycare centers, there is a need to better understand how the exploratory process is shaped by and takes place in this location. However, few studies have considered exploration in naturalistic environments. This may have led to possible conceptual biases, as the dynamics from the socio-historical matrix have not been contemplated; also, there is the need of better grasping the transformation process, involving both the baby in relation to the environment and people, as well as the inverse process. In order to investigate how the exploratory development of the baby takes place in the adaption process to day care, this project is part of multicentric proposal from seven countries (Brazil, Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Samoa, USA and Finland) that investigates different aspects regarding home care transition to shared care environments. From the perspective of the meanings network, two focal infants (age 5-8m) from two different daycare centers will be monitored. The records will obtained from two-hour video recordings sessions held in eight different dates throughout the year. The corpus of analysis will be constructed from mapping the exploratory baby activities (looking, moving around/or touching/vocalizing, smiling) in relation to the environment and people there. Thus, episodes will undergo micro genetic analysis, searching for indicative minutiae of the genesis of the transformation of the exploratory process. Still, ontogenetic aspects and conceptions/political-pedagogical strategies will be considered in the analysis. These results will be discussed in relation to literature. The potential contributions of the work might add to theoretical and empirical gaps, also bringing practical benefits for parents and professionals of the nursery. Still, the international design allows parallel with different cultures and socio-historical realities. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

COSTA, Natália Meireles Santos da. The development of locomotor exploration and infants\' transition to ECEC settings: (pro)positions, negotiations and pathways. 2021. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (PCARP/BC) Ribeirão Preto.