Long Distance Education for Teachers and Educational Professionals

Project BRA/99/017 -- Start Year: 1999; Approved Budget: US22,144,679; End Year: 2002; Related projects: BRA/00/027, BRA/98/011, BRA/98/019, BRA/98/020; Implementing Agent: NEX (National Execution Related Projects); Executing Agent: Ministry of Education.

Project background and rationale: In a country with continental dimensions and significant regional inequalities such as Brazil, long distance education is considered an important instrument to improve the overall level of education, which still lies behind countries with lower GNP per capita. The Brazilian government, acknowledging the importance of sound education in the development process, has launched a National Plan of Education, which will be the guideline for the Decade of Education (1998-2008). In particular, significant efforts are being done to train teachers and habilitate the approximately 90,000 professors who are currently teaching without habilitation. For this purpose, instruments such as “School TV”, a TV programme specialized in long distance education, will be used.

Project development goal: This project aims at contributing to the improvement of the performance of the basic education system, by increasing its quality, efficiency and equity, through the training of the professors and the refinement of all professionals operating in the fields of education, pedagogy and school management.

Project immediate objectives and expected outputs: In order to fulfill this goal, this main objectives of this project are:

1. To train uncertified teachers through long distance education methodologies in selected States of the North, Northeast and Center-West regions of Brazil.

2. To support the continuous training of teachers and other professionals working in the area through the educational TV.

Contact details: Educação a Distância para Professores e Profissionais de Educação Ministério da Educação Secretaria de Educação a Distância Esplanada dos Ministérios Bloco L - 1.º andar 70.047-900 Brasília – DF Brasil