CONSIDERATIONS ON THE CONCEPT OF ALPHABETIZATION AND LITERATENESS PRESENTED BY THE CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS

Abstract

The objetive of this article is to expose and analyze the concepts of alphabetization and literateness presented by  the childhood educators. Based on Soares (1998-2004) we conceived alphabetization as a learning proccess and aquired skills necessary  to the act of reading and writing as a state and condition of the person who incorporates the social practice of reading and writing. Thus understanding that the terms of alphabetization and literateness are not synonyms. It refers to distinct processes that, nevertheless, occur in an interdepedent and inseparable ways.  The educators who took part in this research are people who have a higher education, who are working in public institutions which are envolved in childhood Education. The collecting  of the empirical data  was done through partly structured interviews. The set of answers presented through excerpts, allowed us to understand the way the teachers compreehend the relation  between the process of alphabetization and literateness. As the interviewed teachers spoke about alphabetization none of them mentioned the literateness process. Nevertheless, as they revealed how they understood the literateness process, the marjority related it to alphabetization, at one moment considering them synonyms, at another moment, confusing one with the other, at times, noticing the difference between both of them but not delimitating them clearly. Due to the profile of the people subjected to the interview it was possible to conclude that the curricular projects of the Pedagogy Courses recognize  the need to find another model for  initial and continued Education. We advocate that such a task requires a sistematic Education with a certain degree of depth which would allow us to understand the relation between the process of alphabetization and literateness and public policies committed to this kind of Education.