Language and imagination in the process of appropriation of reading and writing: an investigation in the light ofHistorical-Cultural Psychology

Abstract

This article analyzes the process of appropriation of reading and writing skills in childhood, investigating the relationship between the psychological functions of language and imagination. The central objective of this study is to analyze how the development of imagination acts as a mediator in the process of acquiring written culture. Grounded in the principles of Historical-Cultural Psychology, the research employs a qualitative approach through participatory inquiry. The field study was conducted at two early childhood education institutions in the countryside of São Paulo, involving 28 four- and five-year-old children, whose written work and oral accounts were recorded throughout 2021. The research showed that when teaching is organized in an intentional and dialogic manner, writing becomes an extension of drawing and play, allowing children to transition from concrete thinking to abstraction. Thus, the educator’s role is that of a mediator in this “prehistory of writing,” fostering environments rich in social interactions where the act of writing responds to a real need for communication and the expression of children’s subjectivity. It can be concluded that the development of writing in early childhood education is enhanced when the school environment promotes unity between thinking, imagining, and creating, ensuring that children take the lead in their process of integration into literate culture.