Curiosity and Research Development of Statistical Literacy in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

Early Childhood Education in Brazil constitutes the first stage of Basic Education. Discussions about pedagogical proposals for teaching children from zero to five years old were intensified with the publication of the National Curricular Guidelines for Early Childhood Education in 2009. Currently, the National Common Curricular Base guides the organization of the curriculum through Fields of Experiences contemplating a diversity knowledge, including mathematics and statistics. The objective of this article is to analyze the experience of planning a kindergarten teacher with 5-year-old children about working with statistics based on statistical literacy. The work is part of a master's research, in which group studies were carried out in a collaborative context and which involved reflections and the elaboration of lesson planning from the perspective of statistical literacy, based on the stages of the investigative cycle. The teacher's planning expressed the possibility of experiencing an investigation whose questioning stemmed from the children's curiosity. Its practice highlighted collective mediations of the stages of the investigative cycle, from the choice of theme, elaboration of the instrument for the interview, carrying out data collection, organization and representation of data in a pictorial graph, as well as discussion on the conclusive aspects of the research. The importance of the reflections and analyzes that the teacher participated in during the group studies on statistical literacy is highlighted. We consider that valuing aspects of the children's universe stimulated the investigation carried out by the children and contributed for them to participate in the activity as protagonists.