Teacher accreditation in the natural sciences and mathematics in distance education courses of Federal Institutes in Brazil

Abstract

This article analyzes the relation between what is declared and what is practiced in the curriculum in teacher accreditation courses at a distance in the natural sciences and mathematics at Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology in Brazil. The investigative method involved three moments: (a) to identify among all the Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology of Brazil, the courses within the scope of this study; (b) to analyze the regulations at the institutions that offer these courses; and, (c) to use ideographic and nomothetic analysis to analyze, compare and reflect on curriculum as the phenomenon in question. Classroom experiences that are important to teacher education were observed, however, weaknesses were identified in the elaboration, implementation, comprehension and relevance of the curriculum for teacher education through the distance education mode, given that the curriculum denotes a process of systemic reflection, which marked by decision-making and political commitments, is based on references from different times and spaces, orders and perceptions.