ELEMENTOS SOCIAIS DE PARQUES INFANTIS DO INTERIOR DE SÃO PAULO (1937-1978)

This article presents the results of a research conducted within the scope of a Doctorate in Education with the overall objective of reconstructing historical elements of seven Children's Parks that operated in the municipality of Marília/SP, in the period from 1937 to 1978. These years correspond to the installation of the first Children's Park in the city and the year of changing the denomination from Children's Parks to Municipal Schools of Early Childhood Education, respectively. The specific aim was to comprehend the social elements of the Children's Parks that operated in Marília/SP. The research was conducted through a historical approach, centered on bibliographic and documentary research, involving procedures for locating, identifying, recovering, gathering, systematizing, selecting, analyzing, and interpreting sources on the subject. To achieve this, sources from the permanent archives of the Municipal Schools of Early Childhood Education where the Children's Parks operated were consulted. Additionally, legislations, Marília newspapers, manuscripts, photographs related to the Children's Parks, and texts about Early Childhood Education from that period, published in the Brazilian Journal of Pedagogical Studies, were also used. Among the results, it was possible to understand that in the Children's Parks that operated in Marília/SP, there was a Comprehensive Education approach, where social elements were valued, including the participation of families and other members of the external community. Various celebrations were organized and were predominantly related to institutional anniversaries, Easter, June Festivals, Brazilian Independence Day, Tree Week, Children's Day, and Christmas. During these celebrations, social elements were developed in connection with artistic elements.