Formação de professores de 1ª a 4ª série do ensino fundamental nas modalidades a distância e presencial: um estudo na universidade federal do Espírito Santo UFES.

Abstract

The goal of this dissertation is to compare the performance of the students in the Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Program (Elementary Education), offered in two modalities distance education and campus-based by Universidade Feder- al do Espirito Santo UFES (Federal University at Espírito Santo). The educa- tional context in which this paper is developed is one in which the initial and continuing training of the teacher is an important part of changing the school and in which the social recognition of the diploma (charter), cultural capital, amount of time available for studying, student expectations for the diploma, economic situation, schooling and previous experience is valued throughout this training. The need to produce knowledge regarding the efficiency of the teachers that would point the direction to effort and resource maximization is also taken into account. It is assumed that UFES students who finished the Undergraduate Teacher Prep- aration Program (Elementary Education), in the distance education modality (EAD) and campus-based (PRES) have the same performance, regardless of the modality of studies which guided their training. The data is collected from the students in the final stage of the program. Information is gathered using content tests and socioeconomic and cultural questionnaires in accordance with the meth- odology used in standardized performance evaluation tests such as the SAEB and the PISA. Test results show that the lower and upper performance limits are the same or very similar for both groups of students EAD and PRES. The paper describes the factors presented in literature as possible influences on the perfor- mance of the students and it presents a comparison between the profile of the students of both modalities of training according to those factors. A research among private schools presents the opinion of the employers in regards to the value of the diploma obtained by the teacher in the distance education modality. In general, it is recognized that the course is a valid option, but it is considered that the teacher who received his education on campus is better trained than his counterpart. The study shows that UFES course in the distance learning modality is appropriate for those who cannot attend classes on campus and is in line with the principle of the opportunities guided by equity, contributing to the demystifi- cation of one modality over the other. Nevertheless, it is recommended that other studies of the same nature be carried out with the remaining classes of the pro- gram as well as with other distance education programs in other to prevent hasty conclusions that may push in the direction of accelerated professional courses for the training of the teachers.