The judicialization of full-time early childhood education vacancies: an analysis of judicial and extrajudicial decisions

ABSTRACT

The paper presents part of the results of a case study on the judicialization of vacancies in full-time early childhood education held in the municipality of Vitória-ES. It aims to discuss the decisions made by the Municipal Department of Education and the Legal System in relation to the demands promoted by families who request vacancies for their children in public institutions of full-time early childhood education. It adopts a documentary analysis of educational legislation of Vitória-ES, as well as judicial and extrajudicial proceedings impetrated in the period 2016 to 2019. It uses the software Nvivo to assist and organize data analysis. The outcomes indicate that most of the lawsuits are rejected due to a tension in the field of early childhood education due to the lack of mandatory full-time care and the priority assumed with part-time preschool. It is concluded that the commitment to the right to education of young children is not limited only directly to the demandant families for this right, nor in isolation to the decisions of the Municipal Education Department or the Legal System, but it is a political issue that concerns everyone, which presupposes the establishment of a public dialogue between the various agents.

Keywords:
Right to Education; Full-Time Early Childhood Education; Judicialization; Childhoods