Os cuidados oferecidos aos bebês nas escolas de educação infantil e a capacidade de mentalização de educadores de berçário

Abstract

The care offered to babies affects their development, including the body care that is also psychic, and the educator’s mentalizing capacity is an important element that impacts the care quality. The aim of this study was to describe and assess the care provided during feeding and hygiene moments in schools of early childhood education, as well as to evaluate the educator’s mentalizing capacity. Four nurseries educators participated in this qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study - three work in public schools, and one in a private school, located in Porto Alegre and its metropolitan region. The method used was Multiple Case Studies. The instruments used were: Sociodemographic and Professional Datasheet, interview, filming of observations and field diary. The interviews were assessed qualitatively and through guidelines of the Checklist for the clinical assessment of mentalizing. It was conducted a qualitative and descriptive analysis of the video footage. Each case was presented individually and, afterwards, a cross-case synthesis. The affective needs of infants were better met than the activity needs, yet only two educators satisfied their affective needs sufficiently. It was identified that the two participants who provided better care also presented the best results regarding their explicit and implicit mentalizing capacity. It is highlighted the social implication of the themes addressed, considering their relevance to child development.