PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: REFLECTIONS ON TEACHER MEDIATION AND EDUCATIONAL POLICIES

Early Childhood Education, as the first stage of Basic Education, plays a fundamental role in children’s integral development, requiring pedagogical practices that are theoretically grounded and articulated with educational policies. In this context, teacher mediation is a central element in the organization of learning processes, the promotion of meaningful interactions, and the appreciation of children’s multiple languages. This article aims to analyze pedagogical practices in Early Childhood Education based on reflections on teacher mediation and the influence of educational policies on the organization of pedagogical work. This is a theoretical-analytical study, grounded in academic literature in the field and in normative documents that guide Early Childhood Education in Brazil, such as the National Curriculum Guidelines for Early Childhood Education and the National Common Curricular Base. The reflections indicate that pedagogical practices are not isolated actions, but intentional and contextualized processes shaped by conceptions of childhood, learning, and teaching. It is concluded that the articulation between pedagogical practices, teacher mediation, and educational policies contributes to the qualification of pedagogical work in Early Childhood Education and to the guarantee of children’s right to quality education.