Medicalization of education and the COVID-19 pandemic: contributions from Historical-Cultural Psychology.

• Grant number: 22/01950-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: November 01, 2022
• End date: October 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Human Development Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Marilene Proença Rebello de Souza
• Grantee: Camila Sanches Guaragna
• Host Institution: Instituto de Psicologia (IP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The object of this study is the production of diagnoses of learning and/or behavioral disorders in the early years of elementary school. The aim is to understand how the production of diagnoses of disorders related to learning and/or behavior and the dispensing of medication for children in the early years (1st to 5th) of elementary school have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, it aims to investigate whether there has been an increase in diagnoses of learning and/or behavioral disorders and in the dispensation of medications that are usually intended for children with these disorders, before, during and after the social isolation resulting from the pandemic; to identify actions taken by the school participating in the research to deal with the difficulties related to schooling during this period; and to analyze the schooling process of the students participating in the research in order to understand the process of producing the ADHD diagnoses given to them during the COVID-19 pandemic, investigating whether there are any relationships with the pandemic period. This research was developed using quantitative and qualitative strategies. The quantitative dimension is based on data from municipal and state Transparency Portals, and the qualitative dimension is based on case studies, school records, municipal documents, questionnaires, interviews and observations. Based on Historical-Cultural Psychology and Historical-Dialectical Materialism, the study aims to contribute to improving the quality of schooling in the early grades, where the greatest difficulties are found, as pointed out in numerous studies in the field of School and Educational Psychology.