This thesis is related to the research Professional development opportunities for the personnel of early childhood education in the state of Rio de Janeiro: conceptions, policies and its implementations. It concerns the fields of early childhood education, public policies, infancy, language and literacy. Its main concern is the understanding of the conceptions of infancy, language and literacy that resemble to practices and speeches of the different instances of the early childhood education in the public Schools of the city of Rio de Janeiro. This thesis is based on current literature concerning the history and early education policy;on the proposition that children are culture producers, citizens of rights and on language as a space for social interaction, awareness and growth. Specific bibliography references from each center of the research outlined these principles, however it had as a main source of ideas Mikhail Bakhtin, Walter Benjamin and Lev Vygotsky. The first chapter discusses the history and social construction of childhood and focuses the childhood situation in Brazil, pointing out the educational system challenges concerning early childhood education. The second chapter considers the language issues related to infancy, questioning and proposing ideas to early childhood education. It brings up the importance of the written language in the contemporary world, infancy and literacy, the construction process of writing and the limits and possibilities of children's literature. The third chapter focuses the early childhood education in the public schools in Rio de Janeiro: describes early childhood education, examines its history in the city of Rio de Janeiro and presents questions identified through observations and interviews.