Indigenous childhood and differentiated educational rights:advances and limitations in Mato Grosso do Sul

Abstract

This article aims to promote reflection on educational policies for indigenous children in early childhood education in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The research is anchored in the Gramscian theoretical perspective, understanding the State as a space of disputes and mediations in the formulation and implementation of public educational policies. Methodologically, it is a study based on the documentary analysis of regulations governing indigenous school education in the state, namely: Decree No. 10,734/2002; CEE/MS Deliberation No. 6,767/2002; State Education Plan (PEE 2014–2024); SED Resolutions No. 2,960 and No. 2,961/2015; CEE/MS Deliberation No. 10,647/2015; and SED Resolution No. 3,005/2016. Data collection was carried out through a survey of official government websites and bibliographic research. Initially, the text discusses the role of the State in conducting educational policies. Then, it presents historical aspects of indigenous school education, with an emphasis on the specificities of Early Childhood Education. Subsequently, it analyzes the set of educational policies that affect indigenous Early Childhood Education in Mato Grosso do Sul, problematizing, based on academic productions, the ways in which these policies are implemented in the contexts of indigenous communities. The results indicate that the regulations recognize indigenous Early Childhood Education as a specific and differentiated right, based on interculturality, community consultation, and the valorization of indigenous knowledge and languages. However, the academic production analyzed reveals limitations in the effectiveness of these policies, especially regarding the implementation of Early Childhood Education, structural conditions, and teacher training, in addition to the scarcity of systematic studies on indigenous early childhood education in the state.