Análise do impacto e contribuição da educação a distância-EAD nos cursos de graduação da Universidade Aberta do Brasil na Universidade Federal do Ceará

Abstract

The contribution and impact of Distance Education - EAD have been developing a crucial mission in the expansion of the teaching offer, democratization and spatial and social transformation through higher educational access. The understanding of educational territorialization, based on EAD, is essential when it comes to university expansion. Based on the mediation of technologies, in overcoming geographical barriers, uniting institutions to the social context, bringing people together and transforming the local context in which they are inserted. This reality has been gaining scope, mainly, in Higher Education Institutions - IES. The study proposed to analyze the role of the aforementioned educational modality of the undergraduate courses of the Federal University of Ceará - UFC under the Open University of Brazil - UAB system. The study was based on the understanding of the importance of public educational policies aimed at technological education, inserted in the context of Distance Education and territorialization of this public education policy. Classified as a qualitative- quantitative work, allowing the collection and qualification of information on the subject. As a result, the objectives were achieved through the analysis of the impact of UAB/UFC, highlighting the public served by this policy and the expansion of higher education by the UAB/UFC centers during the years of operation and its relationship with the cities where the centers are located, in addition to analyzing the contribution of this public policy in the state of Ceará. The study highlighted the locations with institutional gaps in higher education and methodological application that, based on the integration of spatial analysis, allowed the identification of areas of the territory with the need and conditions to receive distance education policies aimed at access to public higher education.