Representações Sociais de Mães Solo atendidas no Sistema Público de Ensino Sobre a Educação Infantil e o Trabalho Docente: Interseccionalidades de Gênero, Raça e Classe

Abstract

The focus of this thesis is early childhood education and teaching work, analyzed through the knowledge, images, and attitudes of mothers living in the municipality of Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil. The research aimed to answer the following question: What is the social representation of mothers served by the public education system regarding early childhood education and teaching work? The theoretical framework is based on Serge Moscovici’s Theory of Social Representations (2012), particularly the dimensional approach, which considers knowledge, images, and attitudes. It also draws on Kimberlé Crenshaw’s (2002) concept of intersectionality, which articulates the interplay of gender, race, and class. Information analysis was conducted using content analysis methodology, supported by the Iramuteq software. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 155 mothers and a census questionnaire applied in two research locations: the 31 de Março Social Assistance Center (CRAS) and the John Ericson Duarte Occupation.The thesis argues that social representations are deeply connected to lived experiences, the bodies we inhabit, and the subjective meanings attributed

to objects of knowledge. In this context, the life and educational trajectories of Black and low- income mothers play a central role in shaping new representations of early childhood education.

These representations may act as strategies of resistance and familial coping from an intergenerational perspective, in which one generation sacrifices itself to ensure greater access to public policies — such as early childhood education — for the next. Access to early childhood education is seen as an opportunity to break through the barriers that limited the opportunities of previous generations. By investing in their children's education, these mothers not only seek a better future for their families but also challenge the social structures that perpetuate inequality. Their actions thus represent acts of resistance and hope, in which the sacrifice of one generation becomes an opportunity for the next. The research findings converged on representations of single mothers marked by poverty and social inequality. Interrupted schooling, financial difficulties, informal work, family responsibilities, domestic violence, and the daily struggle for survival all shaped these representations. These conditions highlight the essential role of public policies such as the Bolsa Família cash transfer program in supporting family income and access to early childhood education — from daycare to preschool — as a form of safety, support, child autonomy, and preparation for the subsequent stages of basic education. The mothers also emphasized the importance of valuing and recognizing the work of early childhood educators, pointing to the need for responsibility, patience, and dedication in the exercise of the profession.