Resumen

ABREU, Andreia Rodrigues; COUTINHO, Angela Scalabrin  y  FERNANDES, Natalia. Babies in focus: rethinking participation in early childhood education. Sér.-Estud. [online]. 2025, vol.30, n.68, pp.25-46.  Epub 24-Abr-2025. ISSN 2318-1982.  https://doi.org/10.20435/serieestudos.v30i68.2062.

Working with babies in daycare centers involves considering their specificities, potential, voice, power of social action/agency, and ability to participate in their life contexts. Based on this perspective, Early Childhood Education settings have been undergoing restructuring, especially in the way adults act with babies and in the organization of collective space-time. However, these changes don’t always truly ensure that babies have their right to participate realized. However, these changes do not always fully realize babies’ right to participate. This study aims to explore how intergenerational relationships in a daycare setting either constrain or facilitate babies’ participation. It is based on a visual ethnography conducted with babies in a collective educational context in Portugal. We define participation as allowing babies to actively “take part” in matters concerning them, rather than merely “being part of” the environment. The study reveals that opportunities for participation are most evident during free activities, where intergenerational relationships are fostered through shared power and processes of listening and negotiation. Conversely, in basic caregiving activities, participation is more constrained, with the focus often on provision rather than on ensuring the baby’s active involvement.

Palabras clave : teaching practices; babie’s participation; intergenerational relationships.

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