Childhood and humanization: considerations on the historical cultural

Abstract

This article presents some elements of the cultural-historical theory that supports an analysis of the relationship between childhood, education and early childhood education. This analysis can guide the organization of practices aimed at maximum human development during childhood and allow a criticism of the misguided practices existing in early childhood education. Studies conducted in the historical-cultural perspective indicate that many educational practices common in early childhood education – for children from 3 to 6 – are supported in outdated concepts about the relationship between education and development, which leads to mistakes that weaken development in order to guarantee the anticipation of education that pertains to the elementary school. Based on concepts from culturalhistorical theory about human development, it is perceived that, contrary to the trend towards precocious schooling and the abbreviation of childhood found in general in the current practices of childhood education, the right to childhood defended by this theory is a condition for the maximum appropriation of human qualities in new generations.