This dissertation is comprised of three manuscripts that coalesce around the topics of Dewey, Disability, and Democratic Education. Each manuscript is formatted for publication and the dissertation itself is prefaced by information that explains my background and how it connects to my current research. As such, the work contained in this dissertation is a product of my experiences as a social studies teacher, special educator, and administrator. Henceforth, my work focuses on Dewey, Disability, and Democratic Education. My research interests culminate in a three-article dissertation. The first paper is entitled, "Using Dewey to Problematize the Notion of Disability in Public Education." A version of this paper is currently under review for publication. In this paper I situate Dewey's theoretical underpinnings in the conversation around special education. Previous scholars of Dewey and disability have examined the ways in which his work speaks to educational growth and educational opportunity; my work adds to this body of research. However, my work is unique in that not only do I discuss pluralistic, communicative, participatory democracy as it pertains to students with disabilities, I also examine how Deweyan democracy can take shape, specifically within the context of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meeting. I conclude by arguing that Deweyan democracy is not only ideal, but realistic, attainable, and necessary, especially in the lives of students with disabilities. In my second paper, I use the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) dataset in a paper entitled, "Can We Meet Our Mission? Examining the Professional Development of Social Studies Teachers to Support Students with Disabilities and Emergent Bilingual Learners." A version of this paper has been accepted for publication in The Journal of Social Studies Research. In this work, I first examine the social studies scholarship looking at students with disabilities and emergent bilingual learners, as well as research about the nature of professional development within the social studies. I then analyze the number of students with disabilities and emergent bilingual learners that we support in the social studies to provide a portrait of the field. Next, I examine the extent to which social studies teachers receive professional development to support those student groups, as well as the extent to which the social studies teachers found the professional development to be useful. My findings indicate that social studies teachers do not receive substantial professional development to support the learning of all students, as evidenced by the limited amount of professional development received focusing on students with disabilities and emergent bilingual learners. In my third paper, I build on previous research examining the possibilities and benefits of participating in informal learning spaces such as Twitter in a paper entitled, "'So I Feel Like We Were Theoretical, Whereas They Actually Do It': Navigating Twitter Chats For Teacher Education." A version of this paper is also under review for publication. In this paper, specifically, I examine the experiences and perceptions of pre-service social studies teachers who particip¬¬¬¬ated in a discipline specific Twitter chat known as #sschat. My findings indicate that pre-service teachers found value in the chat when they were able to share resources with practicing teachers and build professional learning networks. However, there were instances when the pre-service teachers felt like they contributed little because they did not have direct experience with teaching. Additionally, the pre-service teachers expressed dissatisfaction with using Twitter as a platform for professional chats. However, I still contend and conclude that the utility of such chats outweighs the negatives. Therefore, this study sheds light on the potentiality and necessity of utilizing Twitter chats as a space to provide ongoing and systematic support to pre-service teachers to help not only them, but the field of social studies education move forward. These papers when considered together form a foundation of scholarship and further inquiry focused on Dewey, Disability, and Democratic Education, on which I plan to build in the years to come. / Doctor of Philosophy / When I completed my undergraduate social studies teaching program, the job market appeared bleak in the coalfields of southwest Virginia. Coal, no longer king, had driven the economy for years. With its decline, my community barely managed to survive. My advisor at the time, honest and plain-spoken, told me that unless I obtained a license in special education, I would most likely not obtain a teaching job. Unlike many other areas of the country, in my hometown unless you could do other things like coach or drive a bus, a license to teach social studies was of little value. There was not much money and a new hire had to be willing to do many different jobs to prove his or her worth. Luckily, I had gotten my Commercial Driver License (CDLs) through a training program offered by the county school board, and I was consequently able to obtain a position, although not as a social studies teacher. I started my career in education as a special educator and substitute school bus driver. In this position I worked in an alternative education setting and taught vocational skills to secondary students with significant disabilities (in the institutional meaning of the word). From the start of my career, I aspired to become an administrator, so I enrolled in and completed a degree in Administration and Supervision. As I was working on that degree, I moved to the general education high school level, where I held a position teaching social studies and special education in an inclusive setting. Shortly thereafter, I obtained a job as an assistant principal. The part I enjoyed most about this position was working with and thinking about how to help teachers become better at their craft. At this point is when I decided to pursue a PhD in social studies education, so I could develop my interest into a body of research and eventually a career. Two years into my PhD program I was still grappling with who I was as a scholar. As I familiarized myself with social studies scholarship, I discovered that in my first position as an alternative education special educator, I was essentially preparing my students for the responsibilities of citizenship, which is the mission of the field of social studies (NCSS, 2013). Nevertheless, it was not until I started reading the work of John Dewey that I truly realized the complexity of what I experienced when I taught in the alternative education setting. That position allowed me to examine an element that I otherwise, would not have had the privilege to see; the complexity and intellect required for physical labor (Rose, 2004) and the inter-workings of true, vibrant, Deweyan democracy. Dewey’s work sparked a new interest in me and I started developing a deep-seated curiosity about how his theoretical underpinnings related to disability and democratic education. My interest in disability then caused me to ask other questions about social studies in relation to special education, which made me reflect on my prior experiences as a social studies educator. Although I had a license in special education, there were many instances in which I felt unprepared and unsupported in addressing the needs of all students in my classes which included general education students, students with disabilities (SWDs), and emergent bilingual learners (EBLs). I began to wonder if my feelings of unpreparedness and lack of support were in isolation. As I parsed the literature, I found that there was not a significant amount of research focused specifically on the extent to which social studies teachers felt they were prepared and supported to address the needs of all learners in their classroom. Additionally, my experience in both public education and teacher education gave me insight to realize that school systems do not have funding to provide specialized professional development and similarly, teacher education is under financial constraints as well. Therefore, I began examining what informal spaces such as Twitter offer educators in terms of professional support and development. My interests and curiosity fueled my scholarly work and eventually culminated into three distinct, but interconnected manuscripts. The three manuscripts that follow coalesce around my interests in Dewey, Disability, and Democratic Education.

O presente trabalho busca compreender o processo de consolidação da Escola Projeto Âncora, que declara se concretizar por meio de princípios democráticos. O objetivo é verificar se esta Escola pode ser classificada dentro do movimento das chamadas escolas democráticas. Para tanto, esta dissertação apresenta um breve percurso histórico sobre um movimento de renovação do ensino - a Escola Nova -, e as tendências pedagógicas progressistas, com ênfase às propostas democráticas. O estudo inclui as questões de autonomia escolar, territorialização das políticas educacionais e a temática da gestão escolar democrática. São abordados os princípios das escolas ditas democráticas, de modo a que sirvam de base para verificar se a práxis da escola estudada se fundamenta a partir de tais princípios. O corpo teórico se constitui das formulações de Paulo Freire e Vygotsky, abrindo espaço para que a Pedagogia e a Psicologia atuem juntas, no sentido de colaborar para a compreensão do processo de desenvolvimento e humanização do homem. Ambos entendem a educação como prática social e política, o que propõe fértil embasamento para o entendimento do fenômeno da democracia. Trata-se de uma pesquisa participante, de abordagem qualitativa. O trabalho de campo se constitui da análise documental e da observação participante. A observação em campo direciona-se ao modo como as relações são estabelecidas no contexto da participação democrática. As situações são descritas com vistas a compreender os processos e acontecimentos do cotidiano escolar, com o propósito de compreender a experiência prática da referida Escola. Os dados coletados mostram que a Escola em questão não se classifica - ela própria - dentro do movimento das escolas democráticas. Sua proposta é trabalhar de acordo com princípios democráticos, sobretudo promovendo o exercício da participação democrática como algo intimamente ligado à formação da consciência, para a vivência da democracia, incentivando a responsabilidade social. Seu propósito não é vivenciar a democracia em um espaço fechado - no interior de um prédio escolar -, e sim sair dos muros da entidade, ocupando os espaços da comunidade. Assim, vislumbra se consolidar enquanto Cidade Educadora, criando Comunidades de Aprendizagem. Esta finalidade tem vistas à promoção de condições que viabilizem a cidadania, a conscientização política, a socialização de informações, de espaço para discussões, gerando uma nova forma de pensar, uma nova cultura, o que faz das intenções educacionais desta Escola, o próprio processo de humanização, que considera não apenas a história existente, mas também uma história possível de ser construída. / The current paper intends to understand the consolidation process of Projeto Âncora School that states to accomplish its objectives based on democratic principles. It aims to verify whether this School can be classified along with the socalled democratic schools movement. Therefore, this dissertation introduces a short historical presentation about a movement of learning renewal the New Schools (a.k.a. Free Schools) -, and the progressive pedagogical trends, focusing on the democratic proposals. The study includes matters such as scholar autonomy, educational politics territorralization and the democratic school management subject. The socalled democratic schools principles are addressed in order to verify whether the studied school praxis is based on such principles. The theoretical body is placed by Paulo Freire and Vygotsky statements, giving room to Pedagogy and Psychology working together, as for the comprehension of the man development and humanization process. Both of them understand education as social and political practice, which proposes fertile basis for the understanding of the democracy phenomenon. It is a participative research, with a qualitative approach. The field work is based on the documental analysis and participative observation. The field observation focuses on how the relationships are established on the democratic participation context. Situations are described aiming to comprehend the scholar routine processes and happenings, intending to understand the practical experience of this School. Collected data show that the School does not classify itself as a democratic school, especially promoting the democratic participation practice as something closely related to the conscience formation for the democracy experience, motivating for the social responsibility. It does not aim to experience democracy inside a closed room, or in a scholar building, but to get out of the corporation, reaching the community spaces. In this manner, it conjectures to consolidate as a City that Educates, building Learning Communities. This objective intends to promote conditions that give room to citizenship, political awareness, information socialization, room for discussions, generating a new way of thinking, a new culture, which makes of this School educational intents the humanization process by itself, one that not only considers the existing history, but also a history that can be built.

O presente trabalho na área de Psicologia e Educação tem como objeto de estudo práticas de mediação de uma professora em conjunto com a pesquisadora, visando melhorar o envolvimento das crianças durante as atividades. O campo de investigação é a educação infantil de uma EMEI na cidade de São Paulo. Os sujeitos da pesquisa são crianças de 4 e 5 anos e a professora da turma. O estudo enquadra-se na modalidade de pesquisa educacional, que discute prática de melhor qualidade, sustentadas nos saberes praxiológicos, tendo como pressupostos a educação democrática, que acredita na criança como ator social, atuante em seu processo de aprendizagem, subsidiada por uma pedagogia para a criança participativa. A pesquisa adotou uma concepção de educação com base na experiência que requer um currículo para a criança participativa sustentada por Dewey (1959a, 1959b, 1973, 1976). A prática pedagógica concebe a mediação como eixo de aprendizagem baseado em Vygotski (1978, 1995, 1999) e a brincadeira na educação infantil como possibilidade de aprendizagem. A metodologia baseou-se no paradigma qualitativo e na utilização de um estudo de caso com o uso de pesquisa-ação, observando as orientações de Elliott (2000a, 2000b), Kemmis e Smith (2008) e Máximo-Esteves (2008), o que exigiu um compromisso ético e uma investigação colaborativa entre a pesquisadora e a professora. O tempo estendido por mais dois anos (2010 e 2011) possibilitou mudanças da práxis pedagógica. Como ferramenta para a coleta de dados, foram utilizadas na investigação a escala criança-alvo (Target), nos itens correspondentes ao envolvimento da criança e suas interações, e a escala de empenho do adulto (LAEVERS, 1994; PASCAL; BERTRAM, 1999). Durante a análise, pesquisadora e professora realizaram planejamentos e avaliaram conjuntamente as ações. Para a triangulação de dados, foram utilizadas as vozes das crianças, da professora, da pesquisadora e dos pais dos alunos. Os resultados estão divididos em três eixos de discussões, baseados na teoria de Lev S. Vygotski, tendo sido analisadas as práticas de mediações entre sujeitos, signos e instrumentos. Assim, as mediações foram discutidas em parceria estabelecida entre a professora e a pesquisadora, no sentido de possibilitarem um envolvimento mais significativo da criança na organização de um ambiente com materiais diversificados, por meio da utilização de signos e da interação de parceiros mais experientes. As ações colaborativas de empenho do adulto favoreceram o interesse das crianças, possibilitando a vivência de experiências em plenitude na participação do contexto educativo. / The work in the field of Psychology and Education has as its object of study, practices mediation of a teacher in conjunction with the researcher to improve the involvement of children during activities. The field of research is in early childhood education in a EMEI in São Paulo. The research subjects are 4-5 years old children and the teacher. The study fits in the educational research modality which discusses practice of best quality, sustained by the praxeological knowledge, having as assumptions, the democratic education that believes in the child as a social actor, who participates in the learning process, supported by pedagogy for the participative child. The research adopted a concept of education based on an experience that requires a curriculum for the participative child sustained by Dewey (1959a, 1959b, 1973, 1976). The pedagogical practice conceives the mediation as the axis of learning based on Vygotsky (1978, 1995, 1999) and the prank in early childhood education as possibilities of learning. The methodology was based on the qualitative paradigm, in the use of a case study using action research, observing the guidelines of Elliott (2000a, 2000b), Kemmis and Smith (2008) and Maximo-Esteves (2008), in which an ethical commitment and a collaborative investigation between the researcher and the teacher is required. The length of time longer than two years (2010 and 2011) allowed changes of pedagogical praxis. As a tool for data collection, the child scale target (Target) was used in the investigation, in the corresponding items to the involvement of children and in their interactions and the scale of commitment of adult was also used (LAEVERS, 1994; PASCAL; BERTRAM 1999). During the investigation, the researcher and the teacher performed planning and jointly assessed the actions. For the triangulation of data was used the voices of the children, the teacher, the researcher and the parents. The results are divided into three areas of discussion, based on the theory of Lev Vygotsky, in which we analyzed the practices of mediation between subjects, signs and instruments. Thus, the mediations were discussed in a partnership between the teacher and researcher in the sense of allowing greater involvement of the child in organizing an environment with diverse materials, through the use of signs and the interaction of more experienced partners. The actions of collaborative effort made by the adults favored the interests of children, enabling a full experience concerning the participation in the educational context.

Community Schools in Saskatchewan offer tremendous potential for building and sustaining democratic communities. This potential is based on what is intended to be the participatory and inclusive nature of these schools. Notions of inclusion at the root of community school orientations to foster well-being emerged from a social-democratic tradition within education and have been explored to differing extents by educational, political, and social theorists. To date, few researchers have examined staff perceptions of inclusion, given the broad and nuanced definition of social inclusion I use here. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the perceptions of these individuals so critically positioned to impact the lives of children, youth and their families, and to frame them in a socio-political and critical theoretical context. In doing so, I focus on the relationship between community school policy and practice in Saskatchewan, examining inclusive processes in community schools, and applying a critical theoretical perspective that accounts for complex and dynamic trends within these schools. Using Habermass critical theory of society, I argue that both functional and communicative rationalization can be seen as converging in the body of community education literature, although functional rationalization is the more predominant, or colonizing, feature. This colonization subsequently leads to legitimation and motivation crises in Community Schooling in Saskatchewan, which can be seen in the low levels of participation of families and community members into school activities. Despite the challenges Community Schools are currently facing, I conclude there is room and opportunity for change at the school level, where stakeholders come together to reach common goals, and live out, at the local level, the ideals of community schooling.

Community Schools in Saskatchewan offer tremendous potential for building and sustaining democratic communities. This potential is based on what is intended to be the participatory and inclusive nature of these schools. Notions of inclusion at the root of community school orientations to foster well-being emerged from a social-democratic tradition within education and have been explored to differing extents by educational, political, and social theorists. To date, few researchers have examined staff perceptions of inclusion, given the broad and nuanced definition of social inclusion I use here. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the perceptions of these individuals so critically positioned to impact the lives of children, youth and their families, and to frame them in a socio-political and critical theoretical context. In doing so, I focus on the relationship between community school policy and practice in Saskatchewan, examining inclusive processes in community schools, and applying a critical theoretical perspective that accounts for complex and dynamic trends within these schools. Using Habermass critical theory of society, I argue that both functional and communicative rationalization can be seen as converging in the body of community education literature, although functional rationalization is the more predominant, or colonizing, feature. This colonization subsequently leads to legitimation and motivation crises in Community Schooling in Saskatchewan, which can be seen in the low levels of participation of families and community members into school activities. Despite the challenges Community Schools are currently facing, I conclude there is room and opportunity for change at the school level, where stakeholders come together to reach common goals, and live out, at the local level, the ideals of community schooling.

The aim of the study was to explore the democratic mission of the preschool as expressed in the preschool teachers’ talk and practical work and also through the children’s actions. The goal was to acquire new knowledge about how the democratic mission is carried out in preschool practice and what democratic subjects are supported and developed by the preschool teachers. Field studies were carried out between 2008 and 2010, with a concentration in spring 2009. The study included 5 preschool teachers and 20 children aged 3-6. Observations were made during the teachers’ planning meetings, when they worked with the children and when the children were playing or acting on their own. Two focus group interviews with the preschool teachers were also carried out, and local documents, for example work plans and evaluations, were analyzed. The results indicate that there has been a shift in view from group orientation in the preschool to greater focus on the individual child. In the analysis of the democratic subjects it was clear that much of what happens in the preschool is focused on individual children rather than the children as a group. In summary, preschool teachers speak of the democratic mandate as important but difficult to implement in their daily work. Children’s influence and participation are set up as goals in the work plan, but the preschool teachers do not feel they come to fruition in the pedagogical practice. Still, they define and condition children’s influence and they do work at the task, seemingly unconsciously, in practice. For their part, the children often seize opportunities when they arise but they also create their own. They take initiative and present ideas about what they want to do in preschool. It even turned out they had influence far beyond the preschool walls. / Förskolans demokratiuppdrag beskrivs som centralt och viktigt men hur omsätts det i praktiken? Hur ser förskollärarna på det de förväntas göra, hur arbetar de med detta i förskolans vardag och hur går det att förstå ur ett barnperspektiv? Observationer har genomförts på en förskoleavdelning med barn i åldern 3-5 år. Förskollärarna har intervjuats och förskolans olika dokument har analyserats. Syftet var att undersöka förskolans demokratiuppdrag så som det kommer till uttryck genom förskollärares tal och handlingar och genom barns agerande i förskolans verksamhet. Resultaten visar att förskollärarna framförallt förstår demokratiuppdrag i förskolan som en fråga om barns möjligheter till inflytande- ett villkorat inflytande. Barnen tar, inom ramen för de villkor som ställs upp, vara på de möjligheter till inflytande som ges. Bland annat genom att ta egna initiativ, göra motstånd under planerade aktiviteter och utmana de regler som finns på förskolan. Analysen visar också att förskollärarna har en komplex syn på det demokratiska subjekt som eftersträvas. Det ses som individualistiskt ur vissa aspekter, barnen ska kunna stå för sina egna åsikter, det ses som socialt, barnen ska lära sig att lyssna på andra, och det ses också som politiskt, barnen ska kunna vara med och påverka verksamheten genom att själva handla. Som ett didaktiskt bidrag presenteras en ny analysmodell; Institutionella demokratihändelser.

No description available.

‘Education as democracy’ is based upon a belief that children have the right to equity in their educational experiences. To honour this right, those who implement this educational philosophy use democratic values and practices to democratise the process and content of education. Although advocates cite a number of benefits for both individual children and the school community, there is a lack of empirical research on this topic, especially in the field of early childhood education. / This qualitative study contributes to filling this gap by examining four Australian kindergarten teachers’ beliefs, knowledge, practices, influences, and challenges about implementing this philosophy in their classrooms. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, direct classroom observations, and document analysis. The participants were considered one cohort, and across-case analysis and triangulation of the three data sources uncovered common themes and patterns in the data. Findings suggest that there are both similarities and variations among the participants’ beliefs, knowledge, and practices, as well as among the influences and challenges they have experienced. Identified similarities include the participants’ levels of motivation, categories of teacher practice, types of influencing factors, and the presence of challenges. Conversely, the participants showed variation regarding their beliefs and knowledge, the use of some specific classroom practices, and selected influences and challenges. / This study makes a significant contribution to the current knowledge base due to its clarification of how this democratic educational philosophy can be practically implemented in early childhood classrooms, and its implications for early childhood practice and policy. Regarding the initial training of early childhood teachers, the findings suggest that professional benefits may occur if training programs explicitly introduced this philosophy to trainees. Additionally, the findings imply that early childhood policies that enhance supporting conditions and lessen challenges experienced by teachers implementing ‘education as democracy’ can have positive benefits for all teachers.

In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is central to political discourses and educational concerns as a means for economic development, poverty alleviation, youth employment, and social mobility. Yet, there is an intriguing contradiction between this consideration and the real attention dedicated to TVET. Research on African TVET is varied, but tends to be narrowly focused on issues of policies, economic strategies, cost-efficiency, curriculum contents, and outdated equipment. Offering an alternative inquiry, the purpose of this conceptual dissertation was to use critical education theory and post-colonial insights to explore the macro and micro challenges SSA TVET systems are facing in a global context. Indeed, in the era of economic and cultural globalization, the African continent has the opportunity to make its way toward socioeconomic development. Still, rich countries are getting richer and the poor poorer. The African continent is rich in natural, mineral, agricultural, human, and intellectual resources. Thus, there are opportunities for well-being and educational prosperity. However, all statistics show that Africans are the poorest in the world. I argue that this poverty is socially constructed and not an inevitable condition for Africans. Unemployment is a tough reality in SSA. The number of students enrolling in TVET is increasing. From the critical and post-colonial conceptual framework I illustrate structural and systematic concerns to show how SSA TVET systems involve oppression, exploitation, marginalization, prejudice, stereotypes, gender discrimination, reproduction, hegemony, and subalternity. Through the concept of democratic education Dewey and Freire offer, I envision, idealistically and realistically, a holistic and emancipatory TVET where the main concern would not just be to train hands but also heads. In so doing, SSA TVET could develop students' critical awareness about citizenship, self-determination, and problem-solving in order to create social cohesion, peace, and stability in Africa.

O presente trabalho na área de Psicologia e Educação tem como objeto de estudo práticas de mediação de uma professora em conjunto com a pesquisadora, visando melhorar o envolvimento das crianças durante as atividades. O campo de investigação é a educação infantil de uma EMEI na cidade de São Paulo. Os sujeitos da pesquisa são crianças de 4 e 5 anos e a professora da turma. O estudo enquadra-se na modalidade de pesquisa educacional, que discute prática de melhor qualidade, sustentadas nos saberes praxiológicos, tendo como pressupostos a educação democrática, que acredita na criança como ator social, atuante em seu processo de aprendizagem, subsidiada por uma pedagogia para a criança participativa. A pesquisa adotou uma concepção de educação com base na experiência que requer um currículo para a criança participativa sustentada por Dewey (1959a, 1959b, 1973, 1976). A prática pedagógica concebe a mediação como eixo de aprendizagem baseado em Vygotski (1978, 1995, 1999) e a brincadeira na educação infantil como possibilidade de aprendizagem. A metodologia baseou-se no paradigma qualitativo e na utilização de um estudo de caso com o uso de pesquisa-ação, observando as orientações de Elliott (2000a, 2000b), Kemmis e Smith (2008) e Máximo-Esteves (2008), o que exigiu um compromisso ético e uma investigação colaborativa entre a pesquisadora e a professora. O tempo estendido por mais dois anos (2010 e 2011) possibilitou mudanças da práxis pedagógica. Como ferramenta para a coleta de dados, foram utilizadas na investigação a escala criança-alvo (Target), nos itens correspondentes ao envolvimento da criança e suas interações, e a escala de empenho do adulto (LAEVERS, 1994; PASCAL; BERTRAM, 1999). Durante a análise, pesquisadora e professora realizaram planejamentos e avaliaram conjuntamente as ações. Para a triangulação de dados, foram utilizadas as vozes das crianças, da professora, da pesquisadora e dos pais dos alunos. Os resultados estão divididos em três eixos de discussões, baseados na teoria de Lev S. Vygotski, tendo sido analisadas as práticas de mediações entre sujeitos, signos e instrumentos. Assim, as mediações foram discutidas em parceria estabelecida entre a professora e a pesquisadora, no sentido de possibilitarem um envolvimento mais significativo da criança na organização de um ambiente com materiais diversificados, por meio da utilização de signos e da interação de parceiros mais experientes. As ações colaborativas de empenho do adulto favoreceram o interesse das crianças, possibilitando a vivência de experiências em plenitude na participação do contexto educativo. / The work in the field of Psychology and Education has as its object of study, practices mediation of a teacher in conjunction with the researcher to improve the involvement of children during activities. The field of research is in early childhood education in a EMEI in São Paulo. The research subjects are 4-5 years old children and the teacher. The study fits in the educational research modality which discusses practice of best quality, sustained by the praxeological knowledge, having as assumptions, the democratic education that believes in the child as a social actor, who participates in the learning process, supported by pedagogy for the participative child. The research adopted a concept of education based on an experience that requires a curriculum for the participative child sustained by Dewey (1959a, 1959b, 1973, 1976). The pedagogical practice conceives the mediation as the axis of learning based on Vygotsky (1978, 1995, 1999) and the prank in early childhood education as possibilities of learning. The methodology was based on the qualitative paradigm, in the use of a case study using action research, observing the guidelines of Elliott (2000a, 2000b), Kemmis and Smith (2008) and Maximo-Esteves (2008), in which an ethical commitment and a collaborative investigation between the researcher and the teacher is required. The length of time longer than two years (2010 and 2011) allowed changes of pedagogical praxis. As a tool for data collection, the child scale target (Target) was used in the investigation, in the corresponding items to the involvement of children and in their interactions and the scale of commitment of adult was also used (LAEVERS, 1994; PASCAL; BERTRAM 1999). During the investigation, the researcher and the teacher performed planning and jointly assessed the actions. For the triangulation of data was used the voices of the children, the teacher, the researcher and the parents. The results are divided into three areas of discussion, based on the theory of Lev Vygotsky, in which we analyzed the practices of mediation between subjects, signs and instruments. Thus, the mediations were discussed in a partnership between the teacher and researcher in the sense of allowing greater involvement of the child in organizing an environment with diverse materials, through the use of signs and the interaction of more experienced partners. The actions of collaborative effort made by the adults favored the interests of children, enabling a full experience concerning the participation in the educational context.