Specialization Pedagogical-Political Project at UNIVESP: Analysis of Distance Education Guidelines

Abstract

This article promotes the content analysis of the pedagogical political project of the Specialization course in Didactic-Pedagogical Processes for Distance Learning Courses at the Virtual University of the State of São Paulo (UNIVESP). The aim is to discuss the form and the content that are presented, as well as the institutional profile that is outlined through the articulation of the course as a whole. This course was chosen as the object of investigation because it is a pioneering state institution in higher education in virtual format and, therefore, brings innovative perspectives on teacher training and performance, in addition to the authors' own empirical experience. The central research question is: how do the choices of institutional regulations organize and guide the specialization of education professionals? To answer it, we consider the so-called “Course Pedagogical Project” — as a formal and valid record of institutional proposals and paths, which, although not made explicit by the title given by Univesp, is political by its nature — a guide for the praxis of the agents involved in the teaching processes. In methodological terms, content analysis of the pedagogical guidelines was used by defining the analytical categories referring to the form and content by which the pedagogical elements are directed; and the intentionality of the course, as training and concomitantly a list of internship practices. As a result, we identified ambivalences in the guidelines adopted by the project in relation to its nature and gaps in higher education legislation in the virtual modality.

Keywords: Pedagogical-Political Project. Lato-sensu training. Distance Education.