Public policies of child education in the pandemic context: considerations on the situation in Brazil and in Italy

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and the consequent need for social isolation led to daycares and preschools to be closed affecting the life of children, families, and education professionals. In this context, decisions made by the public authorities or the lack thereof concern directly the way society gets along with the pandemic, with the absence of service in Child Education and, also, there come challenges 4regarding the structure and maintenance as well as the very concept of child education, historically constructed.  Considering the specificities of Italy and Brazil, their different social contexts, stages of development of the pandemic, and the positions taken by the respective governments in relation to educational service, the purpose of this paper, based on a documental review, is to analyze how both countries have dealt with child education, what decisions were made, the impacts, limits, possibilities, and challenges for this level of basic education which is crucial in the processes of development, learning, and socialization of small children.