THE CONCEPT OF PLAY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION DOCUMENTS:

CONTRIBUTIONS OF HISTORICAL-CRITICAL PEDAGOGY AND HISTORICAL-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY

Abstract

Early Childhood Education, the first stage of formal schooling, aims at the holistic development of the child in physical, emotional, mental, and social aspects. Play is a fundamental right and an essential practice for this development. This study aims to analyze how the concept of play is addressed in guiding documents for Early Childhood Education, in order to understand its implications for the learning and development process of children. The documents analyzed are: the National Curricular Guidelines for Early Childhood Education (DCNEI), the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), and the Curricular Reference of Paraná (RCPR). The study investigates how these documents define play and its pedagogical implications. This bibliographic and documentary research is based on cultural-historical psychology, which emphasizes play in the stages of human development, and on historical-critical pedagogy, which sees teaching as systematic and intentional. Play allows children to explore the world, build autonomy, and develop cognitive, social, and emotional skills. The analysis shows that although the documents recognize play as a right, the BNCC tends to instrumentalize it, reducing its potential in childhood. The study highlights the importance of understanding play as a practice of freedom and valuing it for children's development.