Early Childhood Education and curriculum: Reggio Emilia’s contributions to the implementation of quality Environmental Education in early childhood

Abstract

This article is an excerpt from a doctoral research in Science Teaching, at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS). In this section, we discuss the historical trajectory of Early Childhood Education (EI) in Brazil and the conceptions of children and childhood, highlighting the issue of children's rights, above all, the right to quality Environmental Education (EE). We rely on the theoretical guidance of the Sociology of Childhood, Critical Environmental Education from a Freirean perspective and the pedagogical approach of Reggio Emilia. The work points to children's languages, children's participation, project work and teacher training as fundamental elements for implementing quality EE in early childhood.