EQUITY AND QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN BRAZIL: ACCESS THROUGH THE DISTANCE EDUCATION

1. EQUITY AND QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN BRAZIL: ACCESS THROUGH THE DISTANCE EDUCATION Carla Netto Adriana Menelli de Oliveira Lucia Giraffa Marilia Costa Morosini PatriciaSomers

2. THEME SEARCH To propose a discussion on quality training in higher education.

3. REFERENCES OF QUALITY AND EQUITY • Quality education is one that, in addition to strictly fulfill the imperatives of science, helps build higher levels of a plural society, fair and democratic (DIAS SOBRINHO, 1994). • Quality and equity are inseparable concepts. The social quality or equity of education "that is linked to democracy and consequently the notion of citizenship and the concept of education as a whole, which has a strong ethical and social marked by a citizen's right to have rights, and considers concreteness of school practices in policy-making more equitable (MOROSINI, 2006).

4. THE ROLE OF THE UNIVERSITY • The university is an institution of social, scientific and educational, whose identity is founded on principles, values, rules and forms of organization that are inherent, their recognition and social legitimacy are linked historically to its autonomous capacity to deal with ideas, seek knowledge, discover and invent knowledge (CHAUÍ, 1988). • The universities must to reinforce the paradigm of social recovery of human dignity and a new social order for the contemporary world, thus changing the profile of the student, “worried about social injustice and environmental issues, informed and able to contextualize the world's problems globalized; formed based on personal ethics and not only professional, trained and prepared for mobility context conflicting positions, based on dialogue and sense of justice and endowed with an innovative vision to solve the main problems” (COSTA, 2010).

5. TEACHING IN HIGHER EDUCATION • To characterize the teaching of higher education confers think and act responsibly, based on ethical standards of justice, solidarity, equity and human development. • Promoting quality education and equitable, just, to cover not only the technical skills and scientific knowledge, but also provide access for minorities, including disabled people in institutional spaces, universal education for all and promote plurality of beliefs, of cultures and ideas. It is generating so, an education committed to human development, socially responsible and committed to the changes necessary to a free, fair and independent. • Education is reshaped to the extent that education is based on relations of democracy and justice, putting the quality of education directly related to social responsibility, that is, the more equitable education of higher quality that the is (MOROSINI, 2001).

6. QUALITY AND EQUITY • Quality and equity terms are indicators for the formation of a higher education accountable and committed to human and social development.

7. PUBLIC POLICY IN TEACHER EDUCATION IN DISTANCE MODALITY • Distance Education is a teaching method that promotes access to knowledge and encourages students who have hardly able to complete an undergraduate course in the face to face modality.

8. PUBLIC POLICY IN TEACHER EDUCATION IN DISTANCE MODALITY • In recent years the Federal Government in Brazil has invested in programs and policies in distance education, as PROFORMAÇÃO Pró-Licenciatura system and the Open Universidade Aberta do Brasil (UAB) which are the solutions proposed by the MEC in the training of teachers for basic education in the form distance.

9. PUBLIC POLICY IN TEACHER EDUCATION IN DISTANCE MODALITY • The UAB (Universidade Aberta do Brasil) is a consortium of public universities (federal and state level, more CEFT - Centro de Estudos Técnicos Superiores) that offer courses in partnerships and enjoy the physical infrastructure created by the combination of IES. UAB had its beginning in 2005 through a demand associated with the PNE – Plano Nacional de Educação, prioritizing the training of teachers for basic education and opportunity to higher education to that population that was excluded from the educational process. In 2010, UAB has offered 307 undergraduate programs.

10. PUBLIC POLICY IN TEACHER EDUCATION IN DISTANCE MODALITY • According to data from INEP, it is estimated that the country there is a deficit of about 350.000 teachers. This problem is due to the high dropout in undergraduate courses. According to the institute, about two-thirds of students who enroll in these courses does not graduate. • Given this scenario, it is essential that the investment has been made by the Federal Government in Public Policy is considered as an alternative to help solve the shortage of professionals in the financial year in basic education, provide access to higher education and qualify Brazilian Education.

11. OUTCOMES • The results of research indicates that these federal government initiatives to improve quality of basic education in Brazil and to promote equality of opportunity, with the combined distance education, taking the areas with poor access to education, covering a portion of the population who have difficulty in accessing university education. • The prospects for improvement in teaching quality and equity of higher education, given the proposals of international organizations and the public policy of the Ministry of Education for the Institutions of Higher Education, are encouraging in view of the discussions and agreements signed in relation to social responsibility, fairness and human development. • It is clear that further progress is needed in areas that relate to resources and investments for the feasibility of an education system competent and qualified for the country's growth.