LATIN AMERICAN CENTER OF
RESEARCH IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Adriane Gouvêa
Social Scientist, graduated from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). PhD and Master's student in the Postgraduate Program in Sociology and Anthropology (PPGSA/UFRJ) at the same institution. Currently, she is a professor of Sociology at the State Department of Education of Rio de Janeiro (SEEDUC-RJ) and a researcher at the Latin American Center for Research in Higher Education (CELapes), where she carries out investigations into the differentiation and diversification of higher education systems.
Distance education: about some data and major challenges
There are few topics in the educational field that intensify debates and polarize as many discussions as distance education (EaD). And the awakening of greater sociological interest in this modality, present on all continents, did not occur suddenly. Firstly, because for years, we have witnessed its growth in Brazilian higher education, significantly accentuated after the implementation of Decree 9,507/2017. Furthermore, we cannot forget the undeniable impact of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic on educational systems. A phenomenon experienced very differently between public and private university institutions in the country, but which, in general, aroused the curiosity not only of researchers, but also of the population about the characteristics, practices and effects of distance learning.
According to analyzes obtained from recent data from the Higher Education Census, in 2024, if the projections are confirmed, we will have more university students enrolled in distance learning courses than in on-site courses. Another example of the robustness of this complex modality, highly concentrated in private for-profit institutions, whose size and regulation, proportionally, do not find comparative support to any higher education system in Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Peru ¹ . An invitation to prepare reflections that highlight its advances and main challenges, an exercise in fair evaluations that contribute to a productive debate on tertiary education in Brazil.
Distance education currently registers over 3.7 million enrollments in undergraduate courses across the country and serves a more democratic student profile when compared to face-to-face education. In other words, they are students who have a lower performance in the analysis of different social capitals, whether economic and/or cultural. A recent example was the publication of the profile of graduates of 13 courses participating in the 2022 National Student Performance Exam (ENADE), by the Ministry of Education, in November 2023.
Distance education concentrates a number of poorer graduates. That is, 75% of its evaluated students receive an income of up to 4.5 minimum wages, while those in the face-to-face modality account for 65.2%. Regarding age, 52% of in-person graduates are in the age group up to 24 years old, a category filled by only 19.1% of remote students. In other words, 59.3% of EaD students are distributed between the ranges of 25 to 30 years (25.6%) and 31 to 40 years (33.7%), characterizing it as an older segment. Furthermore, the data shows us that graduating students, regardless of the modality, are also workers. But, with some differences: while 68.9% of on-site students work, 42.4% work in some capacity for 40 hours or more. On the other hand, we have 85.7% of students working in distance education, with 67.1% of graduates working in roles lasting 40 hours or more. Very similar findings that corroborate other research involving the socioeconomic profile on the topic.
The capacity for greater inclusion resulting from distance learning is undeniable. Certainly, a significant number of students would not attend university if they did not find it possible to combine work, travel and the obligations of everyday life with their studies. In some Brazilian municipalities, distance education is the only possible alternative for entering a higher education institution. These characteristics, associated with a monthly fee, which on average is cheaper than that found in the face-to-face modality, make distance learning a very tangible option for citizens. However, it is not enough to guarantee inclusion, it is necessary to develop mechanisms that allow quality learning, the individual's retention, and the development of skills for a good insertion in the job market. And this quality certainly permeates not only a legal structure that guarantees its functioning, but also the construction of teaching materials prepared by different media and that address the contents of a subject with the same density as face-to-face teaching, a teaching that understands the elements of a learning environment and has material conditions to carry out their work, tutors trained and qualified to clarify students' doubts and an assessment system ensuring that the student has acquired, in each subject, knowledge equivalent to what they would have in classroom (Bielschowsky; Foguel, 2022).
In this area that is still little known in the field of sociology of education, it is possible to find good offers for distance education. One example was the performance of students completing EaD in the HEIs gathered in the Cederj Consortium for Enade in the 2017-2019 cycle. According to Bielschowsky and Foguel (2022), no student evaluated was on courses with an insufficient Enade 1 or 2 concept, and only a third of them were on courses with Enade 3. The majority studied on courses with Enade 4 or 5. However , in the research “Comparative performance analysis between face-to-face and distance learning modalities”, by professors Bertolin and Bittencourt (2023), on the results of the general averages of the so-called Specific Components, obtained by participants in courses in the different modalities of ENADE 2022, we have findings much more modest. There is a significantly unfavorable performance for students enrolled in the distance learning modality. Even segmenting the data across the public (federal) and private (for-profit and non-profit) sectors, and perceiving an approximation of results between the modalities, a negative analysis of the performance for distance learning remains. A finding observed for all courses analyzed, even though the grade, in itself, is not an indication of quality. But it demonstrates that there are significant discrepancies to be debated² .
As Bielschowsky and Foguel (2022) demonstrate, attempts to reverse this unfavorable performance for distance education, especially in private universities, were already tried between 2003 and 2007, when a series of Conduct Adjustment Terms were signed. (TAC), aiming to remedy deficiencies, culminating in the deaccreditation of some institutions and the requalification of others. After a long hiatus, we observed a new government effort to contain the consequences of this intense process of deregulation, experienced in recent years, which resulted in the creation of hubs in inadequate conditions and without effective supervision. The action included the suspension of the accreditation of 16 courses for distance higher education in the country, over the next 90 days, in addition to the interruption of
implementation of new degree courses. A topic that was not present in the public consultation that also comprised these activities and that ended in November .
The initiative did not please the representative entities involved, who fear the total closure of distance learning courses and proposed a more transparent debate in relation to the results established by the public consultation on distance learning. On the other hand, the MEC may encounter some obstacles in reformulating the regulatory framework for the modality, since there may be a conflict of interests, as many private institutions affected by the measure have representatives in Congress. In addition to these observations, another fact has drawn the attention of experts in the field: the significant concentration of enrollment in the modality in the hands of large private educational groups. In 2018, these large organizations already held 48.1% of the sector's enrollments. Adding only the distance modality, this concentration reached 82%. And it has remained over the years. The fact is that the model adopted by these organizations has contributed little to the good performance of students in ENADE 2016/2018. Bielschowsky (2020), demonstrated that 49.1% of students enrolled in these institutions obtained an insufficient grade (1 or 2), compared to 36.9% of other private institutions and 15.8% of public institutions. Not to mention the high rate of student dropout in the first years of the course. Faced with such a complex situation, there is an urgent need to debate and implement new regulations for distance learning, ensuring the permanence of good institutions that offer it and curbing predatory establishments that aim exclusively at profit, cost reduction and little commitment to education.
2 The researchers highlighted some specificities for this survey such as, for example, the smaller number of responding graduates coming from distance education and the decision to choose to work with the analyzes of four courses (Administration, Accounting Sciences, Social Service and Technology in HR Management), with the aim of not losing representativeness for comparisons, allowing a number of graduates that would enable future disaggregations by social indicator. Furthermore, they observed that the universe of analysis focused on the private sector, as 97% were institutions in the sector, and 85% belonged to the private for-profit sector.
References:
BERTOLIN, J; BITTENCOURT, H. Comparative analysis of performance between face-to-face and distance learning modalities. ENADE 2022 results. Ministry of Education. YouTube. October 31st. 2023. In:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=43oDBz5gmhs&t=13838s . Accessed on: 20 Dec. 2023.
BIELSCHOWSKY, CE Trends towards precariousness in private higher education in Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Education Policy and Administration – Scientific journal edited by ANPAE, [S. l.], v. 36, no. 1, p. 241–271, 2020. DOI: 10.21573/vol36n12020.99946. Available in:
https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/rbpae/article/view/99946 . Accessed on: 21 Jan. 2024
BIELSCHOWSKY, CE; FOGUEL, D. This is not distance education. Mail
Brasiliense. 08/15/2022. In:
h ttps://www.google.com/amp/s/www.correiobraziliense.com.br/opiniao/2022/08/amp/5
029298-article-isto-nao-e-educacao-a-distancia.html . Accessed on: 03 Jan. 2024.