Resolução de conflitos em contextos de educação infantil bilíngue

Abstract

This paper is based on Vygotsky s (1930-33-35/1984) studies concerning education and its role upon human development. It aims to critically understand conflicts resolution with children from bilingual education contexts and how it may enable them to act collaboratively. This research is underpinned by the concepts of higher mental functions internalization (VYGOTSKY, 1930/1984), zone of proximal development (VYGOTSKY, 1933-35/1984 and NEWMAN & HOLZMAN, 2002) and infant oral argumentation (LEITÃO & BANKS-LEITE, 2006; PONTECORVO, 2005; FARIA, 2004 and OLIVEIRA, 2006), once it uses reflection and argumentation as tools to conflict resolution, contributing to children s higher mental functions development and resulting in the attainment of autonomy. The data collection was made from daily video records of children s school time within one school year thus enabling the recording of conflicts that normally take place throughout children s interaction and also the chronological evaluation of the participants development and improvement. In the interpretation and analysis section, the bilingual educators language mediation is highlighted as well as how they make it possible for the infants to develop collaborative actions, who, by the end of one year, are capable of using argumentative tools for communicating and acting collaboratively in both languages with almost no interference from the teacher. This research is inserted in the social-historical-cultural perspective (VYGOTSKY 1933-35/1984, LEONTIEV 1977- 1978, BAKHTIN/VOLOCHÍNOV 1929/2010 and BAKHTIN, 1981), once it points out the importance of the environment and the social, historical and cultural contexts influence on children s psychological development, especially by the time they begin to speak and master language as a way of interacting in the world. According to Vygotsky: the moment of major significance in the course of intellectual development which generates to the solely human forms of practical and abstract intelligence, happens when speaking and practical activity, so far two completely different development lines, converge (VYGOTSKY, 1930/1984: 11). Once the transformation of individuals as well as their social situation by the use of linguistic instruments is one of the major concerns of this paper, it is inserted in the field of Applied Linguistics (LIBERALI, 2006) in a critic paradigm (PENNYCOOK, 2004). It is a critical collaboration research (MAGALHÃES, 2009), in which the method is simultaneously a pre-requisite and a product, the tool and the result of the study (VYGOTSKY, 1978:65) and aims at analyzing and criticizing the context of action with the goal of transforming it collaboratively with its participants