Introduction

The objective of the study presented here is to present the access to the first stage of basic education, early childhood education, from 0 to 5 years of age in the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The contribution of the study is manifested by understanding the importance of the work carried out in the educational field by the right of the child. Childhood is the period in which the whole structure of an individual is strengthened, in all its dimensions. Opportunely, the relevance of the development of this research is to investigate: how is the access to Early Childhood Education in the State of Mato Grosso, being at the end of the National Education Plan?

Goal 1 of the National Education Plan sets the following target: to universalize, by 2016, pre-school education for children between 4 (four) and 5 (five) years of age and to expand the supply of pre-school education in schools so as to serve at least 50% (fifty percent) of children up to 3 (three) years of age by the end of the term of this PNE (2014-2024).

It justifies, the realization of this, on the vows offered for the development of the Childhood, since it is of universal right of the child.

Offering an environment in which the child can develop integrally, physically, psychologically, intellectually and also socially, is, therefore, a state duty. Children are entitled to rights, according to public documents and policies, where they are provided for without distinction or discrimination on the grounds of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, or any other condition, whether their own or that of their family.

According to the LDBEN (1996), the purpose of early childhood education, also known as the first stage of basic education, is integral development, that is, a concept that understands that education should guarantee the development of individuals in all its dimensions, and should be constituted as a collective project.

Therefore, it recommends an organization by age groups (art. 30), being called nursery school (0 to 3 years) and pre-school (4 and 5 years), in both of which the child will be accompanied and stimulated in its development.

According to Vilela (2021) "The space that childhood occupies in our history progresses, according to some studies, the history of childhood brings us many possibilities and reflections, in relation to the way we understand and also how we relate to children"

The culture of assistance to families, in search of manpower for the labor market, speaks louder than the right of the small citizen, often times the state tends to allocate inadequate spaces, thus hindering the adaptation and acceptance of the child.

It is not possible to accept that young children are cared for in inappropriate, inospospitable spaces that do not offer accessibility, that do not motivate the child, it is necessary to offer an adequate and attractive space, so that the exercise of their citizenship is fully realized.

It is well known that parents or guardians, often out of ignorance, enroll their children for other reasons, and not for the right that the child has under the law, therefore, where is the right instituted to the citizen of right?

Given the data collected, and the end of the decade of education (2014-2024) alerted to the need to raise awareness about access to young children in the state of Mato Grosso - Brazil. Data on access to early childhood education in the State of Mato Grosso - Brazil will be presented.

Methodology

The research method was conducted through quantitative research, based on the School Census, Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira (INEP) and Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) in recent years (2010 to 2021).

The analysis was of a basic nature, based on numerical and statistical data by means of tables, graphs and data description.

The organization took place essentially in view of the fact that it was a question of researching access to the first stage of Basic Education in the state of Mato Grosso, and initially a research was carried out on virtual official data. It was used from the reading of the data, analysis by means of the quantitative approach, with the objective of raising the statistical data, which covers the territory under study, based on André (2005), Marconi and Lakatos (2003), Gil (2009) and Bogdan and Biklen (1994, 2003).

Results

The State of Mato Grosso is located in the central western region of Brazil and is the only Brazilian state to have three of the country's main biomes: Amazon, Cerrado and Pantanal. With geographical extension of 903,330 km², density = 3.9 inhabitants/km² and altitude = 322m.

Mato Grosso is a state of diverse peoples, a mixture of indigenous, black, Spanish and Portuguese peoples that portuguese that mixed in the early years of the colonial period. Cultural diversity is the main main characteristic of this people, it was these miscigenated people who received migrants, about 41% of the state's inhabitants were born in other parts of the country or abroad were born in other parts of the country or abroad.

In this way, the cultural diversity, provided overmaneira the reflection on spaces offered to the children, that more attend to the needs of the adult, from its organization, to the objectives of use of the space, sometimes asking to the parents or responsible, or why they use the playground or pre-school? - Many will respond : - "porque não tenho onde deixar", ou "porque precisa ser alguém na vida" ou até mesmo: "If I could I would not use it, I only use it because I need to work". Few emphasize that it is a "child's right".

Through the studies, the Maria Cecília Souto Vidigal Foundation^[1] (FMCSV) recently presented that the main problems faced in frequenting the creche are: the lack of housing, or the lack of people who do not want it, or the lack of unity around their home.

According to the Basic Infrastructure Parameters for Early Childhood Education Institutions and based on the existing units/schools until 2016 and, in 100% of the units/schools, until 2023. The goals (2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.6) of the Basic Infrastructure Parameters for Early Childhood Education Institutions, focusing on space and infrastructure, were established (BRAZIL, 2006):

• 2.1 only authorizes the construction and operation of public, private, philanthropic, confessional and community early childhood education units that meet the infrastructure requirements in accordance with the National Education National Directive and the State Education Council.
• 2.2 guarantee the construction and maintenance of units/schools/classrooms according to the expansion of the demand to be met and in accordance with the Basic Infrastructure Parameters for Early Childhood Education Institutions.
• 2.3 to maintain actions that increase accessibility in Early Childhood Education schools in relation to: architectural adequacy, accessible and adequate transportation supply according to current legislation [...] accessible technology resources.
• 2.6 provides for the maximum number of children per grouping/tour proportional to the size of the rooms, 1.^50m2 per child in the age range from zero to five years old, considering only the free space.

After reflecting on the current situation and analyzing the goals, it is impossible not to comment on the legal and technical support when caring for small children without an adequate structure,

many times in crowded, inadequate spaces, in terms of accessibility that does not meet the expected demand, becoming a space that does not offer security and comfort for frequency and permanence.

The Pedagogical Policy for Early Childhood Education addresses in the document (2016) in the conception of the organization of spaces and environments the intentions and objectivity of educational practices. Therefore, planning and critical reflection on curricular life are necessary.

It is necessary to expand the supply of early childhood education in creches in order to serve at least 50% (fifty percent) of children up to 3 (three) years of age until the end of the validity of this PNE (2014-2024).

Figure 1

Planned goals

Note. Fonte: IBGE -Adapted Author (2023).

Data from the 2018 report (Figure 1) show that the country has not yet met its targets. The State of Mato Grosso accounts for 15.9% of the expected access of 50%. In 2019, 1,591 schools offered early childhood education in the state of Mato Grosso, with 1,376 (86.5%) offering preschool and 775 (48.7%) offering kindergarten.

In 2021, 1,588 schools offered early childhood education in the state of Mato Grosso, with 1,377 (86.7%) offering preschool and 786 (49.5%) offering kindergarten. Over the last five years, it has been observed that the number of schools offering preschools has fallen while the number of schools offering kindergartens has increased. As shown in Table 1.

Over the last five years, the number of schools offering preschools has fallen by 0.8%, while the number of schools offering kindergartens has increased by 5.8%.

He noted the fact that, even with the obligation in art. 208, EC 59/2009, for students from 4 (four) years of age, the goals of the PNE (National Education Plan) are far from being achieved, noting that in the period of 2020 and 2021 there was impact of the pandemic COVID/19.

Table 1

Early Childhood Education Schools in the last 5 years (2017-2021)

Schools in the last 5 years (2017-2021)
ANO	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	%
Total schools	1.581	1.578	1.591	1.597	1.588	-
Creche	743	772	775	768	786	(+) 5,5%
Preschool	1.388	1.370	1.376	1.382	1.377	(-) 0,8%

Note. Fonte: Instituto Nacional de Estudos Educacionais Anisio Teixeira. Adapted - Author (2023).

According to INEP - Brazil (2022) it is perceived that, despite the growth of enrollments in early childhood education until 2019 (it grew 5.5% from 2017 to 2019), there was a 7.3% drop between 2019 and 2021. This decrease occurred mainly due to the private network, which had a 17.8% reduction last year (15.8% drop in the nursery and 19.8% drop in the pre-school), while the public network had a 1.5% reduction (1.8% drop in the nursery and 1.3% drop in the pre-school).

In Mato Grosso in 2020 the percentage of access, or care, in the 0 to 3 years age group, according to figure 2, shows a low rate of 29.4% - below the national average of 35.6%.

Figure 2

Nursery care ( 0 to 3 years) in Mato Grosso

Note. Fonte : INEP | Organized by Datapedia.info. Adapted - Author (2022)

For the 4 to 5 year-old age group, according to Figure 3, it also shows that access or care is low at 90.37%, a low rate - below the national average of 92.9%.

Figure 3

Atendimento nas Pré-scolas (4 a 5 anos) em Mato Grosso

Note. Fonte : INEP | Organized by Datapedia.info. Adapted - Author (2022)

According to the data, there is still a lack of housing supply, demand is high, and many children are without access. According to the National Education Plan (201-2024), in 2016, according to the Constitutional Amendment (EC) 59, universal access for children up to 4 years of age should be achieved.

Figure 4

Necessity of Creches

In the year 2020, there was a need to offer vacancies, 44.7% of children from 0 to 3 years of age fit the criteria of the Child Need Index (INC), there was an expansion in the supply of vacancies, in the year 2021, there was an enrollment rate in Early Childhood Education of approximately 89% of the public network and 11% of the private network, reaching an INC of 31%. It is estimated that, according to the FMCS (2021) a total of 337,362 thousand children in the age group 0 to 6 years old.

Discussion and conclusion

Historically, the conceptions of childhood, children's rights and children's education have been changing as a result of the economic, political, social and cultural transformations that have taken place in society, and new public policies for children have been implemented.

Thus, every child, from birth, has had his or her right to education, health and food, guaranteed by the current Federal Constitution, by the Statute of Children and Adolescents and by the Law of National Education Guidelines and Bases, as well as by the current National Education Plan.

However, the Brazilian child population is neglected, especially the children of Mato Grosso, although much is written and spoken about quality, care and education, and the state's duty to the child population, including the population of Mato Grosso, yearns for public policies that make their rights as citizens viable.

Brazilian municipalities, guided by official directives, have been working to guarantee children's access to early childhood education and, in recent decades, have been working and developing public policies to meet the real demand; however, it is up to us researchers to investigate and present the discussions in order to better think, plan and develop policies for children and for children.

It is worth noting that studying the access of the child to early childhood education is a concern including access and quality of care, therefore, a doctoral research is being carried out by this author, where the problem is about the space of care, as the need to promote the rights of the small Brazilian citizen, with the objective of subsidizing and contributing to the development of public policies designed and instituted for education, specifically for early childhood education.

In this context, Rosemberg (2014) states that, although we already have some achievements, there is still much to advance when we reflect on public policies for Brazilian early childhood education. With this legal and political order, and aiming to overcome the poor-to-poor approach, the concern turned to guarantee the minimum conditions necessary for proposals and strategies that aim at quality, resulting in a series of official documents that, since 1993, the Ministry of Education (MEC) has tried to implement as a public policy of democratic and quality Early Childhood Education.

According to Lazaretti and Magalhães (2019) since then, the implementation of standards and guidelines has broadened the conceptions of early childhood education, children and infancy, achieving important advances in pedagogical practices. Some important conquests were achieved, but not enough, in the face of the political, economic and social environment, marked by inequality and lack of legal guarantees.

Agreeing with the goal: 4.2 of the SDG 2030 agenda of the United Nations (United Nations), to ensure that children in early childhood have access to quality development, require safe spaces with sustainable and natural elements that introduce them to life in cities and human settlements.

Making an analysis according to the data presented above, the state of Mato Grosso, when it comes to early childhood education, has a very low level, considered poor for the success of quality, access, and achievement of pre-established goals, making valid a scientific proposal for the improvement of care.

It is expected in this study to demonstrate the real needs, for the access of the children to the gross domestic product, so that it results in the accompaniment and better effectiveness in the attendance to the child as a citizen of right, attending to the development, emotional, physical and intellectual.

In addition to demonstrating the mandatory need for the supply of housing, the goals also reflect the well-being and comfort of the child, since this is a relevant concern, and we cannot lose sight of the safety, quality and training of the professionals who work there.

At the end of this study, it is expected to have presented data on access to early childhood education in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil, subsidizing the institutions related to public policies for basic education, thus avoiding inadequate and unsatisfactory investments, remaining inadequate. It is necessary to implement the right of the child, guaranteeing criteria for integral development, with its own spaces, prepared for infancy.

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^[1] Maria Cecília Souto Vidigal Foundation

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