WAS THE POST-PANDEMIC PERIOD DIFFICULT FOR WHOM? EXPERIENCES OF RETURNING TO IN-PERSON EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

This article focuses on the post-COVID-19 pandemic period in early childhood education schools. The objective is to understand the experiences and narratives of teachers and school administrators regarding the return to in-person education in early childhood settings after the pandemic. The study arose from the observation that children were often held accountable for the challenges of returning, prompting the need to engage in dialogue with educators and administrators for a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. The research is qualitative and narrative-based, anchored in discursive textual analysis. Data were collected through in-depth, face-to-face interviews with four teachers and four administrators from public schools in Santa Maria and Três Passos, Brazil. Listening to the narratives revealed a shift in perceived challenges, initially attributed to children, but which were also faced by adults. These included professional frustration stemming from difficulties in managing child interactions, the impact of teachers' mental health on their performance, excessive adult caution towards children, fear as a pervasive emotion affecting both families and educators, and differing family expectations regarding early childhood education, often aligned with other levels of basic education.