Distance Learning Courses Reviewed

What Can We See?

Gianna Oliveira Bogossian Roque

, Gilda Helena Bernardino de Campos

1,2

and Camila Sousa Santos

Central Coordination for Distance learning, Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro,

Rio de Janeiro, 22453900, Brazil

Dept. of Education and Central Coordination for Distance learning, Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro,

Rio de Janeiro, 22453900, Brazil

Graduate student. Dept. of Education, PUC-Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Keywords: Quality Assurance, Course Evaluation, Teacher Training, Distance Education.

Abstract: The research project "Quality in Distance Education: a longitudinal survey of teacher’s training in federal

programs" has prospected nine thousand teachers about critical achievements in distance learning courses.

Our target public was students in a postgraduate course from 2006 to 2013. This article presents the results

collected through the final survey instrument applied to 5,892 students. The data was analyzed and some

detected constructs pointed to a definition of quality setting in the student’s perspective, namely: teaching

materials, pedagogical mediation, virtual learning environment, methodology, student academic and technical

support. The qualitative assessment showed other aspects mentioned by the respondents. This paper also

presents the analysis of an open question asking a free review of the course. Surprisingly, students nominated

important aspects of the pedagogical process in distance learning such as teaching strategies, objectives,

curricula content and their dynamics indicating that a distance learning mode course requires an active

pedagogical mediation and the teaching-learning design must encourage collaboration.

1 INTRODUCTION

Brazilian institutions, governmental and private, have

made major investments in undergraduate and post-

graduation offered in the distance learning mode,

increasing considerably the number of enrollments

and courses in recent years. This rapid growth,

especially when means of carrying out government

goals with regard to increasing the number of

enrollments in higher education, imposes the need to

rethink the indicators used to evaluate the quality of

distance courses. GOLD (2010) points out that "it is

fundamental to highlight the political action, organic

or not, of different actors and institutional contexts,

influenced by complex regulatory frameworks,

sometimes contradictory, the result of guidelines,

commitments and prospects - at local, national scale,

regional and global".

The initial argument of this work is to evince

authors that deal with the construction of the concept

of quality in higher education on the assumption that

education is a right and that the government should

provide it for the society. We believe in the

consolidation of national identity and the social and

economic inclusion of marginalized groups. This

principle of education guides a concept of quality

articulated with the paradigm of relevance and social

responsibility and is based on two other principles:

democratization and the reconceptualization of the

role of higher education institutions in the Network

Society (CASTELLS; CARDOSO, 2005).

From this axis, we seek a reflection on the quality

concept that has anchored the practices and

perceptions of distance education. We consider three

aspects: educational-learning, tutorial and technical-

structural

2 DISTANCE EDUCATION:

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY

QUALITY?

The diversity of views and the inexorable conceptual

subjectivity of the term quality in education is not

exempt from the constant referencing in speeches

148

Roque G., Bernardino de Campos G. and Sousa Santos C..

Distance Learning Courses Reviewed - What Can We See?.

DOI: 10.5220/0005491301480155

In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU-2015), pages 148-155

ISBN: 978-989-758-107-6

 2015 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)

about educational policies and institutional practices

(BERTOLIN, 2009a). The chameleon effect of the

term “quality” when applied to higher education

stems from the complexity of possible relationships

that education may have in their technical, scientific,

political, cultural and economic dimensions. Thus,

talking about quality is always to seek reference

"quality of what?", "which social-historical

moment?", "defined by whom?". In this section, we

will seek to bring some of these reflections.

Generically, the term quality can be defined as the

satisfaction of a dynamic in which the effectiveness

of the results is equivalent to the first placed

expectations and, therefore, the processes should

demonstrate efficiency.

The issue of quality in brazilian higher education

was studied by Bertolin (2009b) from qualitative

indicators anchored in the socio-cultural and

economic context, such as the effectiveness (achieve

the basic functions of higher education and integral

formation of individuals and society), relevance

(development of the socio-cultural and economic

areas of the country), fairness (opportunity to access

and retention for all people from different regions and

social classes) and diversity (meet the various

demands and needs of education and training).

These qualitative indicators are related to the

search for solutions to major national problems such

as inequality and social exclusion, insufficient

economic growth and qualitative and quantitative

deficient education systems. In this sense, the quality

of higher education must be analyzed from the

paradigm of relevance and social responsibility

showing the ability to propose ways and coping

alternatives of the national problems.

Debates about quality in higher education are

centralized in the paradigm of relevance and social

responsibility that clashes with the interests and

expectations of another paradigm, derived from the

neoliberal policy (BERTOLIN, 2009a and 2009b;

DAYS NEPHEW, 2008 ; 2010; 2012). The

paradigms of neoliberal policies and the relevance

and social responsibility evoke three central themes

on the agenda of higher education around the world:

democratization, reconceptualization of higher

education institutions and the quality.

The emerging paradigm of neoliberal policy

considers that quality aims to be objective and

universal, valuing the scientific rigor and the

quantitative and measurable aspects. Criteria are

identified with terms and economic schemes such as

development indices, profitability, cost-benefit

calculations, efficiency, innovation linked to

economic income, growth in enrollment, teacher-

student ratio, output indicators, expansion systems,

performance measurement of institutions, student

performance, diversification of funding sources,

among others (DIAS SOBRINHO, 2008). According

to BERTOLIN (2009b), the neoliberal paradigm

opens an economistic vision of quality in higher

education, in which the main mission of the

universities must be the economic growth and the

preparation of individuals for the labor market.

Therefore, institutions should be organized efficiently

and effectively so that their objectives are achieved

quickly and at lower cost, demonstrating an

instrumental and productive view of education.

According to the author, the economic view of quality

in higher education is shared by the private sector, by

some governments and multilateral organizations

identified with the minimum state policy and fiscal

adjustment.

The paradigm of relevance and social

responsibility, although it does not despise many of

the aspects mentioned above, perceives a different

light, valuing the social and political realities of the

institutions and education systems, the qualitative

dimensions inserting the higher education in national

and regional strategies for consolidating democracy.

(DIAS SOBRINHO, 2008). The principle of this

paradigm is that the mission of higher education goes

beyond economic promotion and is also a way to

promote cultural, social, political and scientific

development. Thus, higher education quality must be

able to promote equity and social cohesion,

increasing the possibilities for access and retention.

It is in the 2000s that Brazil became a nation in

transition to the so-called Network Society

(CASTELLS, 2005) and, therefore, the labor market

has demanded new training requirements and training

at a higher level in order to become the most dynamic

and productive economy. Given this situation, it was

necessary to increase the number of enrollments in

public universities, which represented a challenge to

the state, given that the public higher education

institutions are located in urban areas, concentrating

the supply of places around 30% of the municipalities

(MOTA, FILHO E CASSIANO, 2006).

As for teacher training, it was found that the

training of teachers in the early years of the 2000s,

was a sticking point in the implementation of public

policies. The association of teacher education level

with the quality of basic education was sufficient to

realize the urgency of drawing initial training policies

for those teachers already working or were going to

work in basic education (MOTA, FILHO E

CASSIANO, 2006).

The democratization of higher education initially

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demanded a basic education that boosts the expansion

of higher education and teacher education represented

a key part in this process, so that teacher training has

become a determining factor in the quality offered in

public networks. Obviously, one can not blame the

teachers entirely for the quality of education

provision, but it is undeniable that a well-established

initial training is essential for the classroom.

2.1 Quality Education in the Context of

Brazil

In this context, the concept of quality in distance

education in Brazil is perceived in the clash of

interests between the neoliberal paradigm and the

relevance and social responsibility in the teacher

education, considering enhancing the cultural,

political and scientific in remote areas of the country.

The data presented in Census 2011 (BRAZIL.

INEP, 2013) and Synopsis of Higher Education

(BRAZIL. INEP, 2012) allow us to make inferences

about the relationship between the expansion of

private higher education and the perception of the

concept of quality as the proposed Bertolin (2007,

2009b) through a reference model in order to observe

the behavior of the cited aspects.

Distance education in Brazil adopted some

pedagogical models in which quality indicators are

perceived as principles that can compromise the

educational process, such as: (a) pedagogical

centrality of the tutor; (b) relationship and ratio

between number of students and for each teacher; (c)

lack of research projects in this field. In most part of

the country, the tutor has academic training at the

undergraduate level and is maintained by private

institutions in part-time work scheme or hourly or

with a public scholarship in federal institutions.

According to LEHER (2010), the expansion of

enrollment in the private sector has not democratized

Brazilian higher education for the courses, mostly, are

really tertiary education, to name the term appearing

in the publications of the World Bank. These

institutions focused on teaching and students do not

have access to the benefits of research, generating

negative impacts on competition in the workplace and

society.

In the public sphere, the democratization of higher

education via distance learning was made through the

implementation of the System UAB, Open University

of Brazil, and has been commonly associated with the

commodification of higher education policies and

targeted training for individualism, as a concept of a

public good. It must be said that there are many ways

to implement distance learning and, given the

continental size of the country, it is important to

reinforce the potential of this mode of education. The

distance education model adopted by UAB focused

on classroom support in determined places with

tutors. This model has limitations and problems, but

we agreed with Dias Sobrinho (2008; 2010; 2012)

that no higher education can be considered having a

good quality if it is not able to contemplate relevance,

social responsibility and social equity.

In general point of view, democratization of

brazilian higher education admits two interpretations:

(1) the model increased enrollments in private

institutions who restrict the knowledge construction

to a training process and (2) Public higher education

offered by UAB occurred in precarious shape, with an

increase of enrollments but it was not accompanied

by an increase of structural and human resources.

The issue of quality has been central in

educational agendas of states ranging from increased

economic competitiveness to improving the quality of

citizenship indicators. What is at stake is the meaning

of the term quality, stress field between those who

believe that the quality of education is only achieved

if oriented to few and those who believe that an

education has to reach more people, seeking to

achieve the citizenship.

In parallel, pragmatism is necessary to realize that

for many young people the expansion of enrollment

has a symbolic value and considering the economic

vulnerability of this people each additional year of

schooling represents the achievement of a better

social position. Anyway, it is clear that public policies

that have expanded and continue to expand

enrollments in brazilian higher education have

resulted in substantial improvements in the living

conditions of young students although in general

terms the structure remains polarized and stratified.

2.2. Quality in Distance Education in

Mode 2 of Knowledge Production

In 1994, Gibbons, Limoges, Nowotny, Schwartzman,

Scott and Trow published the book “The New

Production of Knowledge” which discusses the

dynamics of science and research in contemporary

societies. The preface claims that there is a new

knowledge of the production process in which not

only the way it is produced, but it is organized, are

considered elements of the process. Gibbons et al.

point to two modes of the structure of science and

teaching in higher education institutions: Mode 1

refers to the organization of teaching in structures

with disciplines, that is, in the words of the authors,

knowledge-based disciplines (1994, p.35). Mode 2, in

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turn, comprises a different and varied range of

research, which changes the quality control, in which

the focus is on transdisciplinarity and the production

of knowledge is socially distributed. It involves,

therefore, a constant interaction between the actors

throughout the production process and that means a

more socially responsible production. However, this

new mode of production, according to the authors,

will not replace the mode 1. Gibbons and his co-

authors also emphasize that Mode 2 is necessarily

dependent of communication technologies, because

the interactions and interconnections that occur on the

Internet make collaborative relationships and makes

the production of knowledge an increasingly activity

"less self-contained" (p.36). Quality control in this

context is determined by a wide range of criteria and

reflects a socially inclusive view.

In this context, HASE and KANYON (2000)

claim that the actual concept of autonomous and free

learning feeds on humanistic theory from the theory

of complexity and suggests an ontological basis for

the dynamic approaches for learning and ability to

handle the change.

3 QUALITY ASSURANCE: A

FORMATION PROCESS

The whole evaluation process entails checking

previously established indicators. To evaluate the

quality of a distance learning course implies the

definition of quality. This is the great challenge for

higher education institutions when offering courses in

distance learning.

Government competent bodies focus primarily in

indicators related to infrastructure issues of the

education institutions such as the faculty, the

administrative and financial management. In addition

to these issues, it is asked how the programs are being

implemented, if these programs promote changes and

if these changes are perceived by the participants in

their professional and personal lives.

When working in course planning and production

we need to consider two locus: (a) the course itself

and (b) the apprentice. The evaluation of a course is

always based on theoretical and philosophical

assumptions underlying the understanding of

teaching-learning process and the knowledge

construction. As stated by Azevedo and Sathler

(2008), the evaluation can not be isolated and

restricted to the limits and measures of school

performance and nor be perceived as bureaucratic

control instrument. One must realize the different

possibilities that permeate the evaluative action as

well as its uses in the context of distance education,

its influence in teaching activities, the role in

educational policy-making and its social commitment

besides the objectives to be achieved.

The act of evaluating as emphasized by Cardinet

(1990 cited Bonniol and Vial, 2001, p.107), "is one of

the essential procedures of the entire management

activity" to the extent that composes the core process

regulation of a system, which presupposes read

reality through observation, a confrontation with the

goals previously established and do the corrective

action. In other words, it is a feedback mechanism

that begins with the strategic planning of the course,

followed by a decision-making about teaching and

evaluative devices, ending with possible course

corrections. Throughout the course, this feedback

should be strengthened through formative

assessment, understood as a process in which not only

seeks to rectify mistakes but understand their

occurrences and causes that enable consistent

pedagogical actions.

One of the main characteristics of formative

assessment is the simultaneity of the course delivery.

It happens from observation and collection of data

about the object that is being evaluated. Thus, we

understand formative assessment as a permanent and

inclusive process, which requires flexibility to carry

out necessary adjustments to achieve the desired

quality. Formative assessment interfere in the

process, being considered as a regulatory evaluation

since it allows stakeholders adjust their strategies.

The essence of formative assessment is the presence

of feedback.

As pointed out by Carlini and Ramos (2009),

"evaluate a course is to diagnose the performance of

each of its components - teachers, students, support

staff, teaching materials, teaching project, virtual

environment" in order to verify the contribution and

fitness to achieve the proposed objectives.

The research group “Evaluation and cooperation

in distance education”, group in which we are

attached with, has, over the years, established quality

indicators for courses in order to promote the

expected quality of the courses offered. We consider

that it is essential that the institution has an evaluation

methodology to achieve excellence in its processes

and ongoing projects. Rethinking the indicators used

in the evaluation of distance learning courses was the

starting point of this research and we wanted to listen

to what the students consider quality in distance

courses.

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4 A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF

QUALITY IN DISTANCE

EDUCATION COURSES:

ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

The study was conducted based on what the students

(who are actually teachers of public education)

thought about quality in distance learning courses.

They were participants of an postgraduate course and

we sent a digital questionnaire available to all

participants and we obtained 2,124 responses,

representing 68.67% of the students enrolled at the

time.

4.1 Procedures for Data Analysis

The quality was seen as a set of factors in different

perspectives and ranges, which aimed to meet the

student of the distance mode in a range of

possibilities. Quality for the development of

assessment tools were defined based on indicators

found in the literature and discussed the following

basic factors: pedagogical mediation, usability,

instructional design, virtual learning environment,

teaching materials, content and pedagogical

architectures and was consisted of four open

questions and 25 closed. Open questions sought the

following evidence:

• How Pedagogical Mediation held throughout the

course contributed to their academic performance?

• How the final work orientation contributed to

your writing?

• Highlight of three (3) major improvements for a

next course.

• a space for a free review of the course was

offered asking about its objectives, the content,

pedagogical strategies, dynamics or any other

relevant topic.

In other articles we presented results of

quantitative research that pointed to the reliability of

the data collection instrument. It was possible to

realize an equal distribution among the items showing

a self-assessment of student. Interestingly, since

almost 50% believes it can improve its commitment

to the course and about 98% believes that the

knowledge acquired throughout the course has

improved their professional performance. Regarding

the students' opinions about the performance of the

pedagogical mediator, we found an approval of the

way in which mediators developed their work. The

complexity of the pedagogical mediator performance

in distance learning courses represents a bridge

between the learner and the tutor and contributes to

the possibility for the learner to reach its objectives

(MORAN, MASETTO and BEHRENS, 2008) .

When designing the mediation as a global guiding

action, the role of the mediator should prioritize the

development and the enhancement of skills and

competencies that promote the dialogue of students

with the study materials, with the teachers-authors,

fostering study practices characterized by the

binomial autonomy-cooperation. Students also

pointed to the importance of the mediator coupled

with the students’ commitment. Finally, the

quantitative research showed that the teaching should

work the contents to provide a link from education to

social practice, understood as a starting point and

arrival of the educational work. Exercises should be

privileged choosing subjects taken from reality, as

integrative axes for pedagogical work and the link

between theory and practice.

With regard to the qualitative research, we found

through the results achieved by content analysis four

categorizations distributed in the following classes:

- Class 1: Improvement of the professional

student achievement, composed of the responses of

those who identified the participation of educational

mediator as important for their professional

development.

- Class 2 and Class 3: Support in relation to

questions and assistance in carrying out the activities

and forums, respectively. Classes 2 and 3 are related

to the tutor's practice, that is, its dynamic function of

the discussions in the forum, learning assessment,

correction and feedback of their activities, a bridge

between the students and the contents of disciplines,

among others.

- Class 4: Permanency and succcess on the

course, highlighting the importance of educational

mediator for this result and, more emphatically, as

critical to the retention and graduation.

These data confirmed and reaffirmed the answers

to quantitative analysis. We pointed out in others

papers that the pedagogical mediator and the student

do not have a static situation, forming a mediator-

student dyad in the context of cooperation throughout

the course towards a professional qualification and

change of meaning which can be produced from this

cooperation.

4.2 Quality from the Perspective of

Students

The analysis of the discursive question concerning the

request of free comments from respondents was

performed using the software ALCESTE - Analyse

Lexicale par Contexte d’un Ensemblement de

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Segment de Texte , which verifies the co-occurrence

of words in the statements that constitute the corpus

of the research in order to organize and summarize

the information considered most relevant. To perform

the analysis of the responses were used successives

descendants classifications in the text units found by

Alceste software. In order to achieve a stability in the

classes founded, the context units vary in size

slightly. The comparison between the classifications

allows the extraction the intersection classes between

the classifications made, so that the found classes

represent the ideas of the dominant themes in the

responses of the students. These classes consist of text

units configured from the KHI2 the association

between classes.

The primary forms reveal what was found in the

text analyzed by the software where 75,013 different

words were analysed showing the initial connection

units. These units, when segmented, form the text

units or elemental context units. 98.97% of the text

available for content analysis were analyzed,

resulting in five classes as shown in Figure 1.

The last tree downward rating shows the

distribution of grades and their implications. The

upward classification highlights the words and the

association between classes. There is a dendrogram

by two arrays: Classes of 1 to 5 and Class 2, 3 and 4,

showing a close-way between them.

Figure 1: Dendrogram of classes found.

According to Class 1, which associated the largest

number of responses (30%), some subjects have been

highlighted: delivery of activities, time associated

with this delivery, stability of the learning

environment and, finally, monitoring provided by the

mediator. We named the Class 1 as related to

teaching practices throughout the course.

We can notice in the individual's statement #422

that the issue of a stable and informative learning

environment was crucial for the achievement of

activities.

The course was very good for me but I have a very

intense daily schedule and it was difficult, but I

managed. I think if the environment had a space to warn

about the student activities it will be good. I didn’t find

it. Sometimes I did not know what I had done and sent

and I often could not see my works after sent it.

(Khi2=21 Ind_422 Gen_F Turma_RS04).

Note the review #1361 in relation to the position

of the mediator and the issue of affection.

(...) sometimes, I was wondering how to keep the class

calm without losing the affection of students (Khi2 = 17

Ind_1361 Gen_F Turma_AM04).

The same applies to the # 270, which stands out

as an important aspect collaboration between peers

and the mediator.

(...) I never felt alone, when I had doubts and discuss it

with the mediator and the companions of the class, we

created a very good link, intensely live every moment

and life relationships (Khi2 = 14 Ind_270 Gen_F

Turma_ES05).

The good evaluation of the course, highlighted in

the statements related to Class 1, is reinforced in

Class 5, which refers to thank for the opportunity to

be part of the course.

Class 2, which we named "The knowledge

society Vision", is related to the change that occurs in

teacher education towards a society permeated by

technology. This change lies in the use of technology

in the classroom and in activities that students take in

their professional life, that is, in Educational

Technology Centers of states or municipalities, as the

students were teachers of public schools.

The course was essential to my academic training and

performance in technologies applyed in education. It

gave me a vision of my role as multiplier in the training

of teachers regarding the pedagogical use of various

media in our schools and in the improvement in the

teaching-learning process. (Khi2 = 32 Ind_618 Gen_M

Turma_AC04).

(...) Before the transformation that is happening in our

society, we can consider that we are live discussion

times that allow us to reflect on the information and

communication technologies in the context of distance

education (Khi2 = 31 Ind_1073 Gen_M Turma_SP07).

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The technologies ongoing education provided me with

a unique learning regarding the use of ICT in schools.

Moreover, it enabled me to review ideas and

educational strategies, accompanied by a new

educational view (Khi2 = 29 Ind_1437 Gen_F

Turma_AL01).

(...) The way of working with projects. Even I have

suggested to the next show our school boards the title:

Professor in the digital age. Based on this theme we will

develop our action plan (Khi2 = 24 Ind_549 Gen_F

Turma_MG03).

Class 3, which appears grouped with the Class 2,

refers to the use of technology in the classroom and

the improvement of didactic situations in the

classroom with the use of technology. The students’

statements in this class pointed to the teachers

training and the possibility of modifying their

teaching in the classroom. The # 350 explains the

change in its attitude in the classroom, while the #

1350 highlights the possibility of change in the

methods used, showing the questioning methodology

is good for the class.

(...) Everyone should go through this experience to

grow professionally and modify their attitudes and

methodologies (Khi2 = 21 Ind_350 Gen_F

Turma_DF02).

It is a very rich current knowledge and as unique

opportunity in the professional life of teachers,

contributing to a rethink in pedagogical practice (Khi2

= 16 Ind_1350 Gen_F Turma_CE05).

(...) I consider very productive this course, with its

structure that greatly contributed to my teaching

practice, because I learned and experienced situations

that I already dominate and it makes me think about it.

(Khi2 = 26 Ind_399 Gen_F Turma_PR03).

(...) Really liked the course, I think it helped me in my

professional and personal trajectory. I learned a lot and

I want to pass this knowledge to my students and does

not keep them to myself (Khi2 = 17 Ind_1887 Gen_F

Turma_SC05).

In Class 4, related Classes 2 and 3, students

pointed to the content and its presentation, using

various situations and educational structures and

emphasizing the importance of these elements in your

professional life. We name this class as a “Teaching

and Methodology”.

(...) The contents of the courses were great and easy to

understand. The strategies and the dynamics

contributed greatly to my education (Khi2 = 59

Ind_1971 Gen_F Turma_AP04).

(...) The content addressed were always very good.

Dynamic and used teaching strategies were extremely

important for the development of the course and for

their understanding (Khi2 = 42 Ind_543 Gen_F

Turma_DF02).

(...) The content and goals of each discipline are clear,

easy to understand. The dynamics used in activities are

very interesting (Khi2 = 41 Ind_1967 Gen_F

Turma_MA01).

Important to note that the five classes found by

analysis, (1) Teaching practices, (2) The Knowledge

Society Vision, (3) The use of technology in the

classroom, (4) Teaching and Methodology (5) Thanks

to the staff course, show a concern for students

beyond the course held.

5 FINAL COMMENTS

We did not present in this paper the coordinated or in

correspondence factor analysis. The important thing

here was to verify as of the content analysis how

classes are formed from the responses of the students,

so that we could understand what emerged as ongoing

quality concept for students in distance learning

courses. We emphasized the question about the

course, its objectives, the discipline content,

pedagogical strategies, dynamics, or any other topic

that the student consider as relevant. We look for

upward rating because this shows a complementary

results and aid in the representation of local relations

between the forms of the same class. We can observe

this classification the Khi2 of each word within the

class helping us to name it since the nomination of

the class comes the concept of quality in the view of

the students. So what can be considered as quality of

a distance learning course on students' view? If we

return to the beginning of this article where one takes

the quality as a set of factors in different perspectives

and ranges from the paradigm of relevance and social

responsibility, there are some factors in the free issue

analysis, namely: teaching strategies, objectives,

syllabus and its dinamics.

However, the pedagogical strategies need

activities that can be defined as vehicles used by

teachers to work the concepts. This will allow the

student to live the experiences necessary for self

transformation. One of the pedagogical mediator role

is use pedagogical strategies in order to help the group

find their rhythm of interaction and work, his style

and personality in the learning community.

Important to realize that the five classes indicate

the course applicability, the professional

development, the engagement in obtaining the

necessary skills to meet the demand of public

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policies. Therefore, the quality of a course can only

be determined in a given context and analyzed from

the perspective of different actors involved in the

process. This paper presented the perspective of

students, public school teachers, and seeked to show

the concept of quality linked to the context where the

course occurs.

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