Quality and equity in the national operational guidelines for quality and equity in early childhood education – Donqeei (2024)

Abstract

This article analyzes the 2024 National Operational Guidelines for Quality and Equity in Early Childhood Education (DONQEEI), problematizing their concepts of quality and equity. Based on research, document analysis, and critical contextual reading. We start from the understanding that Early Childhood Education, recognized since the 1988 Federal Constitution and the 1996 Law of Guidelines and Bases for National Education, has been implementing policies to guarantee the right to access this educational stage. However, the inequality of this access persists, with a high number of children out of daycare centers, the near non-existence of daycare centers in rural areas, the presence of untrained teachers working in this educational stage, the lack of infrastructure to serve babies and young children, as well as the absence of fair career and remuneration conditions for professionals working with this segment. The DONQEEI seek to overcome these disparities by proposing access with quality and equity and presenting some advances, such as the need for effective actions to implement public policies and address inequalities. Nevertheless, the lack of clarity regarding adequate public resources stands out as a central challenge for the effective implementation of the guidelines.