Descrição do problema

Em Moçambique, o rendimento dos alunos da 12a Classe a Ciências Naturais e Matemática tem vindo a conhecer índices cada vez mais baixos, comparativamente aos outros países da região austral de África (MEC, 2007).

O fracasso escolar é um assunto de grande complexidade de ser tratado e pesquisado, pois envolve muitos questionamentos e pode gerar diferentes interpretações em busca das verdadeiras constatações, porém, ciente das dificuldades que encontraria, o investigador escolheu este tema, devido à importância do mesmo no contexto do desenvolvimento sócio-económico do país (PNUD, 2007). O investigador propõe-se a debruçar-se particularmente sobre a disciplina de Matemática por julgar que o maior fracasso escolar ocorre exactamente nesta disciplina. É indiscutível que, para a maioria das pessoas, a Matemática é uma disciplina de grande importância. Um número considerável de pessoas acredita que a disciplina é útil no quotidiano. Porém, é comum ouvir, seja de estudantes, seja de profissionais de diversas áreas, que a sua relação com a Matemática não é ou não foi harmoniosa e prazerosa.

A Matemática escolar, muitas vezes, se distancia da Matemática da vida, ou seja, o que aprendemos na escola não é utilizado nas nossas relações, enquanto membros de uma sociedade, na qual a cada dia se faz necessário o domínio de tecnologias ligadas à matemática. Por outro lado, profissionais que actuam nessas áreas, precisam do domínio desses conteúdos para poder exercer as suas funções.

Por que a Matemática é difícil para muitos estudantes? Quais as principais dificuldades encontradas pelos alunos? Diversos autores, como Damm (1999), Fernandez (1997), Gómez-Granell (1997), Micotti (1999), atribuem tais dificuldades ao tipo de raciocínio que ela exige, à linguagem simbólica e formal e à passagem da aritmética para a álgebra.

Analisando a natureza das dificuldades dos alunos na aprendizagem da Matemática, torna-se evidente a importância do papel do professor frente a elas. Para analisarmos o papel do professor, recorremos, neste estudo, a diversos autores, Brito (1996b), Brousseau (1996), D’ Ambrósio (1997), Perrin-Glorian (1996) e Tardif (2000), de entre outros.

Diante das dificuldades que parecem existir para a aprendizagem de Matemática – dificuldades essas oriundas de diversas fontes relacionadas ao próprio aluno e suas experiências, à complexidade do conteúdo matemático e ao modo de ensiná-lo – cabe perguntar: como o professor de Matemática – mediador do processo de ensino e aprendizagem – actua? Qual é, no geral, a prática do professor para ensinar Matemática? Indagar sobre a prática de ensino de Matemática remete para a questão da formação do professor, ou de como e onde o professor aprende a ser professor.

Para o investigador entender melhor a formação inicial dos professores em exercício no 2o Ciclo do Ensino Secundário Geral, levantou as estruturas curriculares dos cursos que habilitam os professores para tais funções nas faculdades e centros de formação do país, onde são graduados muitos dos futuros professores das escolas de 1º e 2º ciclos do Ensino Secundário Geral. Verifica-se que a formação dos professores de Matemática apresenta problemas que não são locais, mas gerais. Se, por um lado, na Licenciatura a relação teoria e prática é precária, por outro na Pedagogia e no Magistério faltam fundamentos na área específica.

A discussão sobre a formação dos professores para desempenhar novas funções colocadas pela educação do novo milénio não é recente. Os debates não cessam e as novas contribuições afloram em todos os continentes por pesquisadores de diversas formações, como Perez Gómez (1997), Pimenta (1999), Schön (1997), Zeichner (1993).

Acredita-se, porém, que os novos docentes, continuam chegando à sala de aula com uma formação semelhante à de seus professores, mostrando as dificuldades para se concretizar a mudança necessária para a preparação dos alunos em uma sociedade cada vez mais competitiva e dependente de novas tecnologias.

Nas últimas décadas, no que concerne à formação inicial dos professores, a discussão tem se concentrado em dois enfoques sobre a formação e a actividade dos professores: a do técnico-especialista, e a do prático-reflexivo. Quando se fala da formação inicial do professor, refere-se à parte académica, às suas disciplinas nos cursos de Pedagogia, Licenciatura, Magistério, etc., mas é sabido que os saberes docentes destes profissionais não são adquiridos na universidade, mas construídos ao longo de toda a sua vida.

Os professores não nascem professores, e a sua formação também não se restringe a três ou quatro anos, tempo necessário para a conclusão dos cursos que os habilitam para a função. Se se entender que a formação destes profissionais não é assegurada apenas pela sua passagem pela universidade e que a sua prática não depende somente do que lhes é transmitido nela, coloca-se a tarefa de tentar entender quais são e como são adquiridos – construídos - os saberes docentes dos professores.

A crítica à actual formação inicial dos professores de Matemática vem de professores dos diferentes níveis de ensino. Ponte (2002) relata, com base em uma pesquisa que teve com sujeitos professores do ensino superior, o descontentamento dos professores universitários das disciplinas de conteúdos que consideram que os professores não saem devidamente preparados nas matérias que irão ensinar. Os professores das disciplinas pedagógicas se queixam de que tudo que ensinam acaba por ser varrido pelo conservadorismo da prática de ensino. Os professores finalistas lamentam que tudo que aprenderam de nada serviu e que só na prática profissional aprenderam o que é importante. Por outro lado, os mais antigos acreditam que muitos desses novos professores não estão preparados para o que seria mais necessário. Assim, a sociedade parece desconfiar da qualidade da formação inicial de professores.

Badino (1999), ao considerar a preocupação geral com a Educação Matemática e os investimentos feitos em pesquisa, afirma que o ensino da Matemática é uma actividade humana assombrada pelo fracasso. Assim sendo, as pesquisas apostam na mudança: mudança da escola, da sala de aula, mudança do aluno, mudança do professor [...] e entre outras aponta-se para a necessidade de mudança da formação do professor de Matemática, para que possa cumprir seu papel como agente transformador da realidade.

Perante este cenário, o problema central, objecto desta pesquisa, é: Constituirá o Ensino à Distância, em ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem, uma alternativa viável para a formação contínua do professor de Ciências Naturais e Matemática, para que possa cumprir seu papel como agente transformador da realidade moçambicana?

1.2 Objectivos e perguntas de pesquisa

Com base na questão levantada, este estudo tem como objectivo geral:

 Investir na melhoria do ensino em sala de aula através da formação contínua de professores de Ciências Naturais e Matemática do 2ociclo do Ensino Secundário Geral, baseada em ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem.

Complementando o objectivo geral desta pesquisa, surgem ainda objectivos específicos que norteam o desenvolvimento deste estudo, a saber:

 Diagnosticar o nível de utilização das tecnologias de informação e comunicação no seio dos professores de Ciências Naturais e Matemática do 2ociclo do Ensino Secundário Geral;

 Reflectir na planificação e organização de um curso de pós-graduação para professores de Ciências Naturais e Matemática do 2ociclo do Ensino Secundário Geral a ser ministrado à distância, em ambiente virtual de aprendizagem, nas modalidades e-learning e vídeo-conferência;

 Adaptar, implementar e avaliar um módulo de um curso de pós-graduação para professores de ciências naturais e matemática do 2ociclo do Ensino Secundário Geral, ministrado à distância, baseado em ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem, nas modalidades e-learning e vídeo-conferência;

 Analisar se os pressupostos do programa de pós-graduação foram atingidos, no sentido do reforço à competência do professor em sala de aula, diminuindo a rotatividade no sistema escolar.

Tendo em conta os objectivos específicos acima definidos, formulam-se as seguintes perguntas de pesquisa que pretendem buscar respostas sobre:

1. Como diagnosticar o nível de utilização das tecnologias de informação e comunicação no seio dos professores de Ciências Naturais e Matemática do 2ociclo do Ensino Secundário Geral?

2. Que processos administrativo-pedagógicos orientam a planificação e organização de cursos de pós-graduação ministrados à distância, em ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem?

3. Que indicadores podem orientar a implementação e avaliação de um curso de pós-graduação, ministrado à distância, baseado em ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem, nas modalidades e-learning e vídeo-conferência?

4. Que competências do professor em sala de aula podem ser identificadas como garantia de que os objectivos do programa de pós-graduação foram atingidos?

1.3 Relevância do estudo

Primeiramente, convém lembrar que a demanda social pela educação vem crescendo e, em que pesem inúmeras dificuldades e desigualdades, a universalidade da educação vem se consolidando.

Em segundo lugar, vale destacar que a educação “dura toda a vida e se leva a cabo tanto formal e sistematicamente dentro de currículos estabelecidos, como também não formal e informalmente, pelo intercâmbio de experiências numa vida quotidiana participativa” (Huberman, 1999:21). A educação, portanto, não está limitada a um espaço físico, tradicionalmente a escola, tão pouco a um determinado tempo. A Educação deve estar presente ao longo da vida de cada um, o que traduz a ideia de educação contínua e continuada, seja ela formal ou não.

Aparentemente, até agora a educação à distância responde à proposta de um modelo pedagógico alternativo, que tem por objectivo abrir o acesso à informação aos que desejam aprender. Contudo, quando bem direccionada e com o apoio dos meios adequados, pode efectivamente contribuir para vencer barreiras do acesso à educação, assumindo o papel de mobilizadora de estratégias que viabilizem os princípios e fins da educação permanente, por conseguinte, da formação continuada.

Apesar de o investigador defender a tese de que o ensino à distância não deve ser considerado como um método alternativo ou compensatório do ensino presencial, mas como uma oportunidade para repensar a educação como um todo, autores como Gutiérrez e Prieto (1994:12) consideram a educação à distância como “uma das modalidades alternativas para superar as limitações da aula tradicional”. Contudo, estes autores alertam que este modelo apresenta alguns riscos: o ensino industrializado, consumista, institucionalizado, autoritário e massificante. Nesta perspectiva, sua execução requer alguns cuidados necessários, mas quando o projecto é levado com seriedade deve receber o mesmo valor da tradicional educação presencial.

Actualmente, o exercício de uma profissão é necessariamente acompanhado de mudanças. No que concerne ao professor, o investigador pensa que sua profissionalização envolve uma série de necessidades de entre as quais se destaca a formação contínua.

Os conhecimentos e habilidades empregues em um campo profissional são cada vez menos estáveis; em intervalos de tempo cada vez mais curtos, transformam-se e, até mesmo, tornam-se obsoletos. As novas formas de trabalho, as crescentes demandas resultantes dos avanços que a ciência introduz nas áreas técnicas e tecnológicas, nos sistemas de comunicação, de transporte, e mesmo nas formas de relação, organização e lazer requerem um maior acesso a novas informações e um contínuo desenvolvimento de novas habilidades para a adaptação e a assimilação destas mudanças.

As mudanças que se produzem na sociedade actual podem ser analisadas sob diferentes ângulos. Certamente, em todos, a educação tem uma posição estratégica e, consequentemente, o professor e sua contínua formação. Esta formação é compreendida como uma preparação sistemática para os diferentes aspectos de sua função, é o ponto chave para a modernização do ensino.

Porém, e concordando com Perrenoud “é possível que a formação básica do professor não dê mais conta das mudanças rápidas e diversificadas que acompanham a evolução das condições do exercício do magistério”(Perrenoud citado por Chakur, 1995:80).

Além da expectativa de actuação do professor estar inserida num quadro de mudanças, é interessante observar que “nenhuma profissão envelhece mais rapidamente do que a do professor, precisamente porque lida mais de perto com a lógica do conhecimento. Mais decisivo do que colher um diploma é manter-se actualizado pela vida fora” (Demo, 1998:191).

Do ponto de vista pessoal, é necessário que os professores compreendam a relevância de manterem-se profissionalmente actualizados e que “concebam sua formação como um modo de viver e de estar na profissão“ (Huberman, 1999:47). Mas também, sem dúvida, é fundamental que esta necessidade seja reconhecida para que lhes sejam viabilizadas condições de prosseguimento na sua formação.

Institucionalmente, esta questão envolve uma série de requisitos em termos de decisão política e recursos económicos. Factores como receio de mudanças, escassez de programas que atendam às necessidades, falta de incentivos e restrições orçamentais dificultam ou mesmo impedem a realização de programas de formação contínua para professores.

Por isso, todo o projecto de formação contínua necessita de uma vontade real de introdução de mudanças e de que se disponibilizem infra-estruturas e os instrumentos necessários para que se realize. A conjunção de muitos desses factores impede a regularidade da actualização profissional dos docentes no nosso país.

A formação inicial e a formação contínua são dois momentos de uma mesma formação. Ambas estão comprometidas com o desenvolvimento de competência necessária para o exercício da docência e, portanto, estão comprometidos com a sociedade e com a comunidade. Esses dois tempos de formação devem constituir uma unidade coerentemente integrada. Não se pode delimitar o final de uma época de aprendizagem e o início de uma de trabalho, pois “está sendo constituído um continuum entre tempo de formação, por um lado, e tempo de experiência profissional e social de outro. No centro desse continuum, todas as modalidades de aquisição de competências (incluindo a autodidáctica) vêm tomar o seu lugar” (Lévy, 1999:174). Alguns professores buscam auto-gerir sua formação contínua, enquanto outros, talvez “porque pensam que o saber-fazer pedagógico é uma questão de dom ou de experiência” (Perrenoud, 1997:199), ignoram a necessidade desta formação. Não se pode esquecer que, para a concretização desta auto-formação, precisa-se ter como meta uma formação contínua, entendida tanto como uma acção na busca de um conhecimento formal, como numa tomada de consciência de sua práxis, da própria actividade pedagógica. Este processo de contínuo aperfeiçoamento e actualização proporciona segurança ao professor e permite-lhe visualizar novos desafios e perspectivas na sua actuação.

A formação contínua deve estar presente durante toda a vida profissional do docente por meio de “diversos canais que permitam a actualização de seus conhecimentos” (Nascimento, 1998:75). Os cursos, presencial ou à distância, são apenas alguns desses canais.

Considerando-se que a formação contínua de professores é uma temática que não pode ser dissociada da formação inicial e que “de uma certa forma, a formação inicial apresenta-se como o início da formação contínua que acompanhará o profissional durante toda a sua carreira” (Perrenoud, 1997:149), o investigador julga oportuno passar por algumas considerações que abrangem esta formação inicial e que remetem à formação contínua.

Nos cursos de formação inicial, evidencia-se a distância que separa o currículo e as actividades de estágio da realidade das escolas. Portanto, em função de uma formação inicial muitas vezes insuficiente e desajustada da realidade, o professor inicia sua vida profissional já sem o aporte requerido pela prática pedagógica. É necessário repensar-se a formação inicial para que “o futuro professor construa uma relação dialéctica”, no sentido de “preparar e facultar uma maior aproximação dos professores às crianças, numa articulação harmoniosa entre o saber e o saber-fazer, e como ponto para um autêntico saber ser” (Gonçalves, 1992:168).

Convém lembrar que a prática docente se estende por 25 a 30 anos e, com o desenvolvimento contínuo da ciência, há necessidade de uma permanente actualização profissional. Portanto, não se pode afirmar que o professor está formado ao concluir sua formação básica. Esta é apenas o patamar inicial de sua formação como professor. Em relação à formação contínua para professores é essencial propiciar alternativas “como resposta às necessidades reais dos professores e de acordo com a perspectiva de educação permanente e, ainda, promovendo, apoiando e incentivando as iniciativas pedagógicas das escolas e dos professores” (Gonçalves, 1992:168).

Se as transformações que a sociedade vem sofrendo afectam o papel do professor, então são imprescindíveis mudanças na formação inicial dos futuros professores e a efectivação de uma política de formação contínua para o professorado em exercício. Não são apenas novas qualificações que estão sendo exigidas para os professores, mas também novas oportunidades são apresentadas para aqueles que aceitam desafios e colocam-se abertos a novas funções.

Em um momento social onde não existem regras definidas de actuação, “cabe ao professor o exame crítico de si mesmo procurando orientar seus procedimentos de acordo com os seus interesses e anseios de aperfeiçoamento e melhoria de desempenho” (Kenski, 1998:69).

Além de favorecer a articulação da formação inicial à prática, a universidade deve abrir-se à formação contínua, chamando os professores ao seu espaço para uma reflexão desta prática. Os programas de parceria de escolas com universidades são importantes e necessários para que esta formação contínua se efective.

Se, por um lado, a análise da prática docente tem revelado que o seu embasamento teórico não corresponde às teorias produzidas pelas investigações mais recentes, Pimenta (1996), por outro lado, diz ser essencial que se considere que os professores têm uma visão prática da sua acção e do seu conhecimento, um saber desenvolvido pela reflexão a partir da combinação teoria-prática. Há, portanto, necessidade de que a universidade e o professor se aproximem, pois é indiscutível a importância de se tornar a formação dos professores mais sólida intelectualmente, sobretudo através de uma formação universitária de alto nível e, também, por meio da pesquisa em Ciências da Educação e da edificação de um repertório de conhecimentos específicos ao ensino (Borges & Tardif, 2001:15).

A formação contínua de professores como investimento na direcção da melhoria do ensino em sala de aula é indicada, entre outros, por Schön (1992) e Nóvoa (1992). O processo de formação contínua significa, de certa forma, uma oportunidade de os professores perceberem que eles próprios são possuidores de conhecimentos que podem contribuir para a compreensão e aperfeiçoamento do processo de ensino-aprendizagem. É importante considerar que os professores produzem saberes específicos ao seu próprio trabalho e são capazes de deliberar sobre suas próprias práticas, de objectivá-las e partilhá-las, de aperfeiçoá-las e de introduzir inovações susceptíveis de aumentar sua eficácia. Em síntese, os professores são considerados como ‘práticos reflexivos’ capazes de reflectir sobre si mesmos e sobre sua prática (Borges & Tardif, 2002).

A prática pedagógica e a experiência profissional acumuladas por professores ao longo de suas vivências indicam que a universidade também tem muito a aprender com eles. Se superada a distância entre a universidade e a escola, certamente haverá uma troca de informações e uma discussão crítica que muito poderá contribuir para o avanço teórico-prático de ambos. Uma das formas de superar a distância entre a escola e a universidade é a educação à distância.

A universidade é um espaço onde o professor pode buscar novas informações que o levarão à construção de novos conhecimentos. Na maioria dos casos o que impede sua presença na universidade são as diversas demandas de seu quotidiano profissional e pessoal. Quando o professor procura dar continuidade à sua formação, vê-se forçado a afastar-se de sua escola e até mesmo de sua cidade. Este deslocamento, retira o professor da sala de aula, obrigando-o a distanciar-se de sua prática, representando também custos de transporte, alimentação e, frequentemente, hospedagem.

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CHAPTER 6 – SUMMARY, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

  

6.1 Introduction

This chapter is aimed to discussing the accomplishment of action-research and verifies the outcomes got, proceeding in this way, with the fulfillment of the specific objectives number two and three of this thesis, namely:

•  Reflect about planning and organization of a post graduation course for Natural Sciences and Mathematics teachers of the Second Cycle of the General Education to be delivered at distance, in virtual learning environments, on e-learning models and video-conference;

• 
  
  Adapt, implement and evaluate a module of a post graduation course for Natural Sciences and Mathematic teachers of the Second Cycle of General Education, delivered at distance, based on the Virtual Learning Environments, on e-learning models and video conference;

According to the discussion fulfilled in chapter 4 to action research, this type of social research with empirical base is conceived and fulfilled in associated with an action or with collective problem solving on which the researcher(s) and the participants of the problem or situation are involved in a collective or cooperative ways. The action-research can be distinguished by its characteristics of knowing and acting, studying the results afterwards. In so being, it becomes a process of permanent modification “in spirals of reflection and action” where each spiral includes, according to Elliot (1993):

• 
  
  Elucidation and diagnose of a practical situation or problem that is aimed to improving or solving;
• 
  
  Design action strategies;
• 
  
  Use of such strategies;
• 
  
  Evaluation of their efficiency;
• 
  
  Understanding of a new situation;
• 
  
  The reuse of the same steps for a new practical situation.

In a context of rapid technological change, the educational system is confronted with the need of giving new educational opportunities. Going through new technologies especially in the communication field, it is possible to have access to working instruments and information sources that seemed not to be thought of recently. The facility, the speed and the extinction of geographical obstacles has become possible the access to several knowledge potentiating channels, to joy and entertainment.

The accessibility to information and communication technologies must be considered as a factor of quality of life. For the majority of people, technology makes life much easier. To develop education in spaces and times that are less restrict is one of the resources that the technological advance has been providing the people with. In the digital culture, the technologies are in constant transformation requiring a continuous removal of fixed points that used to be a characteristic of the written culture and went through an idea of stability, linearity, homogeneity and standardization.

Currently, it is difficult to accept the vision that dominated the written culture because information now circulates freely and it is broadcast in several ways, being subject to change, questioning and replaced by the most current one. For this reason, there is a question concerning to how the school and the university are still very limited to the use of books as a source of information, without considering and exploring the messages entailed by other means of communication?

In trying to answer this question there can be various hypotheses rose that among them is: lack of teacher´s preparation for the use of the digital technology; teacher´s resistance towards change, the relationship the teacher establishes between technology and technicism; lack of reflection by the teacher about the true revolution that the digital technologies are promoting; lack of knowledge related to the contribution that the use of technology can represent to the learning process.

While being a teacher of information and communication technologies’ module in education, the researcher became aware of the unsteadiness between evolution of the digital technologies and the preparation that is being given to the future teachers. It is seen that once again, the university is being “stepped on” by an advance that several social sectors have already put in practice or are trying to insert while in education this insertion takes place very slowly. What one can see in the teacher training courses is the use of technology by the learners and teachers only for typing and presenting the assignments. Meanwhile, the researcher believes that this type of use of technology by the learners and teachers does not meet the needs so that they understand the transformations that are taking place in society in relation to digital technology.

On the other side, currently there has been development of experiences at national level, in an opposite direction, like the distance teacher training courses. In these courses, the learners and teachers immerge in a proper digital culture environment and they are taken to an experiment of the transformations it requires. These (teachers and learners) while self-eco-organizer look for alternative strategies to respond to the risk and changes that appear in the transformations. The adaptation of the learners and teachers to these situations is risky meaning that these need to have a flexible posture, skill to respond to difficulties, lack, impositions and challenges.

In unstable way of live one lives today, to adapt means to be open to changes “to be self-organizer that designs strategies of life, of insertion, of fight, etc. adaptation finishes when it moulds itself to regularity, constancies and determinism of environments. It becomes adaptation to risks and changes” (Morin, 1980:49).

It is in this way that the researcher insists on the thesis that the distance education must not be considered as an alternative or compensatory method of the face-to-face teaching, but as an opportunity to rethink about education as a whole.

So, as advantages of distance education there is: removal or reduction of obstacles of access to learning, flexibility, especially with the regard to the learners´ permanence in their family environment; use of multimedia resources; active learning; facilitating contact and exchange of experience with teachers and pairs. At resources level, there can be outstood the videoconference or video telephone that allows audio and video information exchange with no significant delay, in the same way, from a computer with internet linkage and from electronic emails so that the instant files exchange is possible.

6.2 From factors that stimulate the natural sciences and mathematics teachers in taking masters courses

The demands that are promoted by the globalization today are felt in several aspects not only at organizational levels but also at individual. It is understood that information can get to any part of the world in a rapid way or in a real time. This new scenery has been establishing changes of political, economical and social character that affect principles and values and these are felt in people´s daily lives changing at the same time, the old habits.

The new technologies have been invading organizational environments and the universities are not out of this context. These new technologies have been causing a reaching impact in the organizations and providing new services, ways of working, tasks flow, new skills and competences. This idea is reinforced by Morgan (1996), who states that there were changes in the nature and style of the organizations as a result of the use of the computers, as the tasks that previously were accomplished by specialized or semi specialized people are now fulfilled electronically, which made whole sections or organizations level totally redundant, in favour of others of higher value. The interface of electronic instruments takes place of relationships nets among the people, which are replaced by new types of operators, programmers and specialists in informatics. This has been affecting the organizational processes that demand organizations to seek for excellent in the services they offer.

Considering that the human beings are the major actors of the production factor, the strategic planning area of the Human Resources of the Ministry has been trying to define new profile for teachers. Feeling new impacts caused by the tecnhological advance, the researcher looks through this study, for the creation of conditions that allow teachers take specialization courses, masters and PhD. The researcher tries to promote higher level of teacher qualifications aimed to improving the services offered.

          6.2.1 Reflections about the masters’course

The specialization course is set up in an eclectic training conception, giving emphasis to cognitive and personalist perspectives on the explanation of the human development (and of professional development) and of orientations of the teacher training of the humanist and problematic character. Consequently, the course will train professional teachers, with skill in teaching in secondary education in the natural sciences and mathematics subjects, able to use scientific and technological competences correctly and understand critically the social, political, historican and economic realities that contextualize the cultural behaviours necessary for the wholly citizenship in the context of the Mozambican society.

Taking into account the aims mentioned above, the following are the objectives of the masters for the teachers willing to attend this course to teach in the secondary schools of general education in the sciences area:

• 
  
  A dynamic construction of knowledge and competences necessary for the teaching career;
• Manage learning situations that are suitable to the purposes of the curriculum syllabi of the secondary education so that they promote competences on the learners in the know how and know to be domains;
• Evaluate the proper process of the construction of a personal acting model;
• Develop research projects.

The masters’ course plan in teaching in the secondary education is a cycle of studies with duration of four semesters corresponding to 120 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

With an end of contributing for the professional training of the sciences teachers guided by principles that support a solid training and which is based on the specific contents that are considered core for the teaching practice in the subjects of the secondary education, the masters predicts in the first phase, the scientific and professional training that enable:

• 
  
  The teaching of biology in the secondary education;
• The teaching of physics in the secondary education;
• The teaching of mathematics in the secondary education;
• The teaching of chemistry in the secondary education.

The changes that have been taking place in the post graduation training panorama in Mozambique demand for a need for a profound reconstruction of courses and processes of the teacher training in the context of several organic units of universities delivering initial teachers.

On the other side, the changes in the regulations at pedagogic stages and to the teacher trainees statute and the changes related to the academic profile for teaching, disseminated by the Ministry of Education, demanded for new roles of the teachers training institutions (universities and schools) and direct intervenients in the process of professional training for teaching (facilitaters, cooperating and orientating teachers).

The creation of studies cycle in the training area for teaching of sciences in the secondary education will ensure that the candidates to teaching in this area acquire specialization of the academic nature that enables the acquisition and domain of research competences and in this way, this will ensure the development of competences that are necessary for entering teacher´s profession.

The educational project subjacent to the curriculum development of this masters’ course aims to, consequently, develop, deepen and transform knowledge and competences acquired in the specialization area, during the initial training, integrating in a whole and articulating wisdom that is related to distinct scientific areas that are linked to training for teaching: education, specific didactics and specialization areas.

The process of construction of teacher´s didactical knowledge in the secondary education will imply the deevelopment of knowledge and competences that will allow teachers to:

Conceive and develop curriculum of their subject or teaching subjects that is suitable to their working context, through planning, organization and evaluation of the educational environment as well as of the activities and curriculum projects in articulation with the other learners´subjects aimed to construct their learning;

Observe learners and identify their characteristics, their needs and establish with them quality educative relationship, promoter of inclusion, security and autonomy;

Fulfill teaching activities promoters of learning within the scope of curriculum objectives of the subject or subjects of teaching and of the cross cutting curriculum areas and evaluate the students´ progress;

Work in collaboration with other teachers and educational actors in the construction, fulfillment and evaluation of the project of their institution, trying at the same time the involvement of families and community;

Fulfill their own training as a constructive element of their professional practice, analyse the existing problems in this practice and examine and evaluate strategies and actions for overcoming them;

Use research methodologies and critical analysis that will allow observing, describing, analysing, reflecting and concluding about phenomena of the reality of the teaching and learning process.

The study cycle presented here, as it was referred previously, has a duration of four semesters that is, 120 ECTS. This creditation integrates:

• 
  
  a specialization course, made up of a set organized curriculum units, that is, 66 ECTS (55% of total creditation of the study cycle); and
• 
  
  a teaching practice of professional nature, on the model of supervised teaching practice, object of a final report, that corresponds to 54 ECTS (45% of total creditation of the study cycle).

In this legal framing, the distribution of numbers of credits in the specialization course corresponds to the balanced and integral development of the prefigured competences in the training components for teaching established by law, privilegiating the scientific area of didactics within the scope of the training period, as it is a scientific area predominantly expressed by the student´s effective work.

In the course of specialization there is inclusion of a curriculum unit in the specific scientific subject area chosen by the students, corresponding to 6 ECTS, with the aim of correcting some weaknesses shown by the students and which are related to the contents that they are eventually going to teach.

Like what was described in the previous paragraphs, there is a need of developing, trasform and deepen, articulating in a coherent way, knowledge and competences acquired at the level of initial training, aimed at training professionals in the respective options with competences in:

1. 
   
   management and the constant deepening of knowledge of contents that are suitable to the exercise of the teaching profession of the secondary education teachers in the specific areas of specialization;
2. use of knowledge and competences of psychosocial and pedagogic nature oriented to the solving of problematical situations in the educative action;
3. 
   
   the use of a repertory of action and reflection strategies that ensure the establishment of a pedagogical environment from which the lesson is built with an educative community that promotes the development of knowledge, attitude, values and competences of several students that it integrates;
4. 
   
   the use of research methodologies and a critical analysis that allow to observe, describe, analyse, reflect and conclude about phenomena of the reality in the teaching and learning process;
5. 
   
   Use of specialized speeches, suitable to diversified audiences within the scope of communication of knowledge built by themselves; 
6. 
   
   The pursuit of a process of an autonomous learning, self and continuous.

The integration of these competences will be made in a special way and within the scope of the teaching practice, placing the student in the school institutions that cooperate with the secondary education. In this professional environment, the student will integrate the teams that meet to develop common projects that are core to their professional training.

The invasion of technology has been replacing and even eliminating several functions not only in the public service but also in all career employments. This new demand seems to influence the organizational culture and the behavior of natural sciences and mathematics teachers. Reinforcing this idea, Morgan (1996:116), states, “The organization is a cultural phenomenon which varies according to the steps of development of society”. So, the section that follows aims to responding the upcoming indagation: “what factors stimulate teachers to take masters courses?”

6.3 Motivation and stimulus

There are major differences between motivation and stimulus: “The study of motivation is a search for explanations for some of the most intricate mysteries of the human existence, its proper actions” (Bergamini, 1977: 84).

“Motivation is not a form or a special impulse to be found on a certain place within the organism. It is a term used to many organic and environmental variables that make several stimuli important to an organism” (Catania, 1999: 77).

Bergamini (1989:106), states, “Motivation comes from the human needs and not from those things that satisfy such needs”. Yet, he states (p.107), “People do not do the same things for the same reasons”.

The human behavior results from the interaction of the economical, psychological, political, anthropological and sociological factors” (Aguiar, 1981:16). “The human being is a type of a psychological organism that fights to satisfy his needs, pursuing a complete growth and development” (Morgan, 1996: 45).

“The individual, in being stimulated, interprets information received not only from the cognitive or perceptive factors but also motivational so that he improves or defends his self image (Atkison et al, 1995: 562).

According to Nuttin (1983: 179) “the human cognitive functions are not reduced to the knowledge of things the way they are, they also build projects of change, projects that guide actions of the individual”. “The stimuli are events in the world and the responses are the instances of the behavior” (Catania, 1999:29).

          6.3.1 Simuli from the external environment

According to Aguiar (1981: 83), “the behavior standards of an individual and the way society is structured are indicators of the cultural aspects”.

For being an organization, always defined as a social system of higher amplitude, there is also a need to consider the cultural organization with its beliefs and values that influence the people that it composes (Etzioni, 1971).

Culture is a set of values, expectations, attitude, beliefs and customs shared by the members of a group, nation or religion (Aguiar, 1981; Godoy, 1995; Souza, 1978).

The same way organizational culture is made up of beliefs, habits, values, customs; people have their own personality and are part of an organization. The human being personality is made up of biological factors that in interacting with the environmental factors, according to Aguiar (1981), modify the biological factors and allow or do not allow its development. Aguiar yet states: the process of incorporation of facts modifies the proper characteristics of behavior. This modification takes place in the process of interaction of the individual with the environmental factors that surrounds him.

De Masi (2001: 164), states, “The progressive intellectualization of all human activity is a value emerging from a post industrial society”. The accelerated technological development introduces economical, social and cultural mutations resulting in changes in the employments and work as well as behavior of the individuals (Cerdeira et al, 2000).

The current working and non borders market, where technology of information allows information in a real time, from any part of the world, allowing even more tele works, requires a new professional profile, which demonstrates qualifications, competence, specialization and general vision. The demands of the world of work and of the globalized society require human capacity that is projected through qualifications, professional development and creativity as well as the professional career.

Aidar (1995: 65), states, “By the time the enterprise competitions become more challenging and the technological advance more rapid, the definition of quality as technical conformity is losing its importance (...)”. In this way, the greater challenge becomes qualification of the individuals so that they are capable for the competitive market, are able to be employed and commit themselves to the professional growth.

The new employment model that is being developed makes an individual responsible for his professional career and not for his employment (Kovacs, 2003).

          6.3.2 Stimuli from institutional environments

 

“The environment is considered a system of stimuli that evocate on the individual a complex of reactions aimed to producing certain behavior, that is, a suitable response to the stimulus. These stimuli may have unpredicted consequences by the organization” (March & Simon, 1981:61-62).

Tolfo (2000:14) states, “The instability on the organizational environments generates different strategies for the working process administration, and the worker that levels becomes more educated, participative and multipurpose.

According to (2001: 23), “in each moment of new lives, there is a pursuit in an instinctive way, plan and program actions for future, that is, the human brain is always trying to abstract a meaning of the future”. “These plans are future hypothetical conditions of the environment in which we establish our relationships, and as our memories “future memories” provide a subconscious guideline to help us determine what received information is relevant” (De Geus, 2001: 24). “The interaction of several environmental factors such as economical, psychological, social, anthropological, biological, political and cultural result in a dynamic that is responsible for training, development and change in the human behavior that is not stable” (Aguiar, 1981: 17).

With the regard to the cognitive processes and the human behavior in the organization, the basic perception for the understanding of behavior, once the perceptive process allows that people build their reality. However, perception receives influence from environmental and internal factors of each individual (Aguiar, 1981).

“The organizations are not conditioned only by the respective environments but also by the unconscious interests of its members and by the unconscious forces that determine the societies in which they exist” (Morgan, 1996: 216).

          6.3.3 Individual Perception of stimuli

According to Bowditch and Buono (1992: 69), “the major determiner to the perception of an individual is its personality”. Personality receives in its development influences from the biological covering, from socialization and from experimented sensations (Aguiar, 1981; Bowditch & Buono, 1992). That is why people have different perceptions of reality because personality of each person is unique.

The perception of stimuli takes place through sense organs such as vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch “The individual perception of stimulus refers to the process through which people receive, organize and interpret information of their environment” (Bowditch & Buono, 1992: 75).

6.4 From adaptation of the materials

The selected materials for this exercise were part of a common program of face to face lessons of the master’s course of one of IHE responsible for training natural sciences and mathematics teachers.

Bearing in mind that there was distance education in the referred IHE and the e-learning was a reality, there was the feeling to design a test in video-conference. This way and because the materials were already in an electronic version for its exhibition with support of data-show, the process for its adaptation was swift and flexible.

And because these sessions were preceded by a face-to-face lesson where the students participants of this study were explained the objectives and told the place of the virtual sessions, the support materials of this module were given in a form of hard copy.

6.5 From the learning conditions

The multimedia environment uses technology in informatics to organize rationally information in virtual scenaries of interactivity and stimulate learning. These scenaries simulate dialogues with the students and present several situations that provide also the possible alternative answers. The aim of this process is that the learning environment provides the necessary conditions so that people become authors of their discoveries.

Regardless the name it takes, what characterizes this strategy (or model, as some prefer) educational is, in the last analysis, the separation between the teacher and the student. The contact among these two characters is immediate. This means that this happens through other resources that are not oral exhibitions of the teacher. In this way, it can be said that in the distance education, the teaching activity takes place in a moment prior learning (in the more precise terms, to the initial learning effort, as it is understood that learning is an internal process that is not restricted to the moment of contact of the student with his teacher).

For that, there was an intense work developed for the preparation of the learning sessions involving technicians, engineers and pedagogics. The study center was organized in a private IHE. This IHE provided also well equipped and air-conditioned resource centers.

6.6 About online sessions

The way in which the formats are conceived and produced is extremely important for the learners/students motivation.

The quality of formats used is the first sign of the training quality. In not obviously being the unique, the quality of the training formats is determiner of the learning success. In this case, the curriculum contents were distributed to the students is a video-conference format as the table below shows 6.1.

Figure 6.1: scheme used in online sessions

The video-conference is an efficient tool that can be used in distance education. This system can be integrated in the teaching process, with a minimal adaptation in the course curriculum and conceived to ensure communication, video and audio among other communication points.

Many video-conference systems use digital video to transmit images in movement through information nets that use only processing technologies and flow of data.

Advantages

Video-conference can be efficient for allowing a visual contact in a real time, be it between students and their teacher or among students themselves in different places.

The meetings between schools besides the sessions of distance training, this type of equipment can be used for multiple activities within IHE, namely, for the meeting between IHE and any student, students with small interaction, students from other IHE at national and international level, work meeting with teachers, etc.

Integration on the net of video-conference – the introduction of video-conference systems with higher quality and availability will generate a significant increase in video-conference equipment in school institutions. The existence of video-conference systems in institutions makes them be suitable candidates to expand their activities to the study centers, encouraging and motivating the students through virtual activities.

Innovation image – the creation and implementation of this academic platform allows the transmission of an innovation image and technical capacity in the field of audio and video by the involved school institutions.

Provide information channel to institutions – this channel by aggregating a greater set of information can also call more visitors than the usual informative channels of each institution.

Disadvantages

It is necessary to pay attention to the evolution that this media presents and understand what the characteristics are and susceptible functions to be used in distance education contexts.

With the existing technologies, it is possible to have a computer connected to several points simultaneously. So, to access to multiple conferences through a digital telephone system is a reality. At the same time, the access to several telephone lines will become a complex task is small means. The other point to consider is related to the cost, that is, if the cost of each call is multiplied by the quantity of lines used, it can be an eliminating factor in the use of these technologies. The video conference presents, besides these disadvantages, other negative aspects like the higher cost of equipment and the booking of the digital telephone lines.

The organization of sessions is very important for the success of training. Therefore, it is necessary to predict communication problems that may arise in the dialogue teacher/learner and in the structuring of the session that require feasible solutions to sort them out (Vandergrift, 2002).

In fact, in the course of the first online session there were some communication problems. Due to the reduced and floating transmission speed (because it is shared), there was greater interference in communication that ended up interrupting the session.

6.7 Evaluations of the sessions

The purpose of evaluation consists of determining if the methods and materials are suitable for reaching the goals and objective drawn.

There are several types of evaluation that can be used in the distance education (Santos, 2000).

• Students´ evaluation, which aims to comparing knowledge and skills developed by them. This evaluation can be given using tests or final, individual or group tasks, given at the beginning of the course (pre-tests), during and after finishing the course (post-tests), depending on the interest, needs and progress of the student.
• Evaluation of training that can be used to review the course throughout the period it is implemented. To verify if the objectives are suitable as well as the level of individual satisfaction, the student´s opinion about the pragmatic, positive and negative aspects.
• Evaluation of the system, which allows evaluating the technologies used, evaluation, understanding, services, duration and organization.

For the objectives of the current study, it is important for the researcher to give a partial evaluation of training and system through the use of statistical analysis that is supported by the statistical package SPSS. For that, there was a questionnaire applied to the students for the objective of gathering data was to get their opinion regarding the module of the post graduation course and for the purpose of introducing a platform of distance education at that level of teaching. The use of this methodological instrument was via e-mail, involved all students enrolled in the masters’ course in natural sciences and mathematics. The table 6.1 presents the outcomes got in the evaluation given to students of the masters’ course. From the evaluation it was felt that videoconference was a valuable means in learning of the proposed content, which shows its potential use as a strategy for teaching and learning.

The researcher believes that from the first experience, the outcomes got show that the videoconference is a means used for facilitating learning and not as an end in it. In this context of transformations that the world lives currently, there was technology shown that can be used so that learning is effective. His can also be combined with other forms of education be it on a face to face or distance education.

On the table 6.1 there were unanimous responses from the students of the master’s course in relation to the questions in the evaluation instrument of the distance education module (Attachment IV). The issue related to motivation divided the group of the students in relation to the moment in which the discussion should take place. Motivation is fundamental for learning to take place and this must always be considered in the evaluation of a project on the video-conference perspective because if the students are motivated, they are ready to carry on a teaching and learning process.

Table 6.1: Statistical outcomes of the students' evaluation

 

The Figure 6.2 demonstrates that the proposed objectives were fulfilled at 100%. This evaluation is reinforced when 100% of the students show interest in participating in the other experience.

The Figure 6.3 presents the outcomes about the concentration time of the students for the discussion of the content of the lesson that shows that there was greater interactivity between the students and the teacher, where 87.5% of the students revealed capable of concentrating during 30 minutes and 12.5% that are able to concentrate in only 15 minutes.

 .

 Figure 6.2: Degree of fullfilment of the objectives Figure 6.3: Motivation level for class discussions

                      Figure 6.3: Motivation level for class discussions

In the rationales it is stated that the lessons ministered via video-conference stimulate greater interest due to the new technology used. The students’ justifications reveal greater interest represented by the way how the technology used was adjectivated.

          6.7.1 Students´Profile


In this phase, the researcher proposes himself, with the use of the statistical package SPSS, to recover and analyse some basic information for the design of the profile of the students participating in the research. The discourse and the imaginary of the individuals are not aleatory or artificial contents but the result of their personal and professional trajectory. From this, there is a justification of the characterization of participants of this study as an important item in the process of analysis and understanding of information especially by the entailment between personal and professional history of the individuals that provided information.

Figure 6.4: Distribution of teachers per age

   Figure 6.5: Working time of students as teachers

 The demand that the sample distribution has to be a normal one is one of the requirements of the group of statistical methodologies of frequent use and generically called by parametrical methods. The aleatory variable of age (X) with normal distribution of mean μ=2.5 and standard deviation б=0.58 represented by X N(μ,б) that is read as “the age (X) has a normal mean distribution of μ and standard deviation б”.

Table 6.2: Age distribution of the participants 

 

 Figure 6.6: Age distribution of the participants by Gauss curve

According to Maroco (2007), the function of probability density of this variable is:

f(X)=1/(σ√2π) e^(-1/2) ((X-μ)/σ)2 with -∞≤x ≤ ∞

Whose graphic representation can be seen on the Figure 6.6.

So, the students whose age group is 31- 40 are on the amplitude 1.92 and those whose age group is 41 to 50 are placed on the amplitude 3.08 of Gauss curve according to the equation (μ±kσ). This result represents a certain violation of normality and homogeneity of the variances. This effect about the parametric outcomes is explained by the dimension extremely small of the sample of this study (a direct consequence of the theorem of central limit). On the other side, there can be noted that the respondents had a considerable professional experience in relation to the working time as teachers (5 years ≤x≤ 20 years), which ensures maturity in the answers given on the methodological instrument used.
 

  

Figure 6.7: Professional category of the participants

Figure 6.8: Level of Education where the participants are working

The fact that 100% of the participants are teachers of general secondary education as tables 6.6 and 6.7 show and own a considerable professional experience in relation to their working time as teachers (5 years ≤x≤ 20 years) gives a certain feasibility to the outcomes of the evaluation already presented on section 6.6.

There can be seen that the major objectives of the students for taking the master´s course are careers (64,7%). Whether the knowledge requalification, whether the competence acquisition in a different scientific area, were less valued motivations by the respondents.

  

          6.7.2 Evaluation of the Administrative Support / Masters Coordination

This part of evaluation aims to checking the students’ satisfaction in relation to the administrative support and Master´s coordination.

 Table 6.3: Statistical results of the students’ assessment

Figure 6.9: Evaluation of Master´s coordination

Figure 6.10: Evaluation of the available time for administrative support

Figure 6.11: Evaluation of Master´s course

Figure 6.12: Evaluation of quality of the Administrative Support

 

 Figure 6.13: Evaluation of coordination quality of the Master´s course

From analysis of the previous tables, one can say in general terms that there has been satisfaction in relation to both aspects. Regarding the administrative support, there were not significant differences in relation to availability and quality of support given. The master´s coordination also shows higher and similar values of quality and availability.

6.8 Conceptions and models of reflective practice on training

This section has a literature review about the conceptions and models of reflective practice. It presents several understandings of the reflection conpcept and its contents, the necessary conditions to the development of this process, its role in the teacher´s practice and the characteristics of the reflective teacher. In the second part there are some models of the reflective practice based on the relationship between action and reflection.

The acknowledgement that the teacher plays an essential role in the teaching and learning process, has been conducting an increased interest in the teacher´s study and his or her practices. Without forgetting the importance of several factors that influence the quality of teaching as a social organization at school, the material resources, the curriculum, etc., attention has been addressed to the teacher has responsible for the nature and quality in teaching (Pérez, 1992). What the teacher does in the classroom in terms of tasks that he or she suggests, the learning environment that the teacher provides and the type of speech that the teacher develops, influence the students´s learning. That is why it is always important to analyse the proper teaching process aimed to “understanding how the professionals solve the conflicts and dilemas that they come across in their day to day life, what competences manifest when they put into practice an innovation and what knowledge composes their professional knowledge” (Guimarães, 1996: 10).

Associated to the importance given to the teacher´s study, the issues of knowing how his/her knowledge is formed and develops has been bringing about some attention from the researchers and educators. The reflection about the practices is one of the aspects that have been refered to as being a basis for the development of professional knowledge of the teacher. For example and according to Serrazina (1999a), it is through reflection about the practices that the teacher is able to evaluate in a critical way his/her performance. In so doing, there is some comprehension developed about his/her practice enriching his/her repertory and improving his/her capacity of solving problems (Schön, 1983).

          6.8.1 Conceptions of reflective practice

Reflective practice and reflective teacher are terms that started being used insistently in the United States of America as a reply to the technical rationality model (Pérez, 1992), on which the teaching is an activity where the problems are well typified, falling to the teacher the role of applying the scientific theories. Currently, the conceptions of teaching and of the teacher appear in a such way associated to the concept of reflection that make it difficult to find teacher training proposals which do not refer to him/her. However, reflection is not a new concept in the educational literature and the notion of reflective practice has been widely used in the teaching context.

For Zeichner (1993), the term reflective practice besides having become in a slogan of the teaching reform and teacher training worldwide, it has been used by researchers, trainers and teachers with different meanings. This author describes four historical traditions of the reflective practice that in his understanding coexist in the initial training: (i) academic tradition in which the reflective practice is restricted to knowledge translation of the subjects for the development of comprehension of the future teacher, (ii) social eficience tradition that is related to the use of teaching strategies which result from the research, (iii) developmental that stresses a reflection on the students´s development and, finally, (iv) social reconstruction tradition that stresses a reflection on the social and political schooling context.

Also Calderhead (1989), cited by Zeichner (1993) considers that the reflective practice has been justified in several ways in the professional training context. According to the author, the several contexts of the reflective practice vary according to four dimensions: the reflection concept, the previous conditions to reflection, the reflection content and the reflection product. Before presenting the characteristics of a reflective teacher and before analyzing some of the models of the reflective model, the researcher proposes himself to dicuss several aspects of the reflection process according to the dimensions presented by this author.

          6.8.2 Reflection Concept

Greater part of literature about this issue inspires itself on the works of John Dewey, namely, in his book published for the first time in 1933, entitled How we think. For this author, the reflection consists on “active examination, persistent and careful of all beliefs or supposed forms of knowledge, in the light of the principles that support them and from the conclusions so that they tend” (Dewey, 1989, cited by Infante, Silva & Alarcão, 1996:157). Dewey characterizes in this way the reflection as an act that involves an deep analysis of what is believed or of what is commonly done, evidenciating the motives and consequences of those convictions or actions. For this author, there is a greater distinction between the human reflective act and the routine. This is, above all, guided by an impulse, habit or submission to authority. On the contrary, the reflection consists of questioning, based on the goodwill and intuition and implies seeking for logical and rational solutions for the problems.

According to Shulman (1987), the reflection is above all “the process from which the professional learns experience” (p. 19). And what does the teacher do when, in retrospect, analyse the teaching and learning, reconstructs the events, the feelings and the actions. For this author, the reflection can not only be looked at as a mere disposition or as a set of strategies, consisting on the use of a type of specific knowledge which is called analytical knowledge that is considered fundamental for the support of the teacher´s work.

For Schön (1983), greater part of our actions goes along with thought and judgement. We not only think about what we do but also when such actions take place. This author considers that both constitute forms of reflection: a reflection about the action and the reflection in the action. In describing reflection in the action of a reflective teacher, Schön (1992a) refers to four moments that are part of such process: a first moment is characterized by the availability that the teacher has in surprising himself with what the student does or says; within the second moment the teacher reflects about what the student did or said; the third moment is characterized by an attempt of reformulating the proposed issue to the student; and finally within the fourth moment, raises a new issue to test hypothesis that formulated about the student´s way of thinking. Reflection about the action relays on the attitude, strategies and thoughts that takes place at the end of the teaching activities. So, when the teacher reflects about his/her own experience, in his/her questioning processes, in his/her attitudes and strategies, thoughts and decisions, is reflecting about the action besides these two forms of reflection, Schön (1992a) yet presents another reflection process that can be carried out afterwards: a reflection about reflection on the action.

For Alarcão (1996a) this last form of reflection is fundamental for the development of the teacher´s professional knowledge, by helping the teacher understand future problems or discover new solutions. In her perspective, reflection serves as a specialized way of thinking taking the subject into a questioning process of knowledge and experience and requires a self-understanding attitude and understanding of the surroundings. So, for this author, to be reflective is above all, “have the capacity to use thought as a provider of sense” (Alarcão, 1996a: 175). Dealt with as a capacity, it is possible and desirable to be developed according to a set of favourable conditions from which sticks up the personal involvement and the sense of discovery.

Darsie and Carvalho (1996) retake the concept of “withdrawn reflection” from Astolfi (1991) and Peterfalvi (1991), state that it is a process from which the subject is taken to a thought, on the second place, about self actions or intellectual activities. These authors consider that it is through a distance look about the object of learning that the teacher builds new knowledge or new understandings of known things. These authors yet refer that the withdrawn reflection about learning can unleash a reflection about action like what Schön defined but it does not drain on it.

Refering to the nature of the reflection process, Pérez (1992:103) states, “ a reflection is not a «clear» knowledge, but a contaminated knowledge resulting from contingences that surround and impregnate the proper vital experience”. For this author, reflection can not only be looked at as an individual psychological process regardless of the context and social relationships. In implying an analysis of experience of each person, reflection implies also a set of values, connotations, feelings, social and political interests inherent to such experience.

          6.8.3 Previous Conditions to reflection

Considering the reflective action as a process that besides implying a search of logical and rational solutions aimed to problem solving, it implies also intuition and passion, Zeichner (1993:18) states that it can not be dealt with as “a set of techniques that can be packed and taught to the teacher”. For this author, reflection does not consist of a set of steps or specific procedures. In the author´s perspective, to be reflective is above all, a way of being a teahcer.

Pollard and Tann (1989), although they share the idea that the process of reflection involves aspects related to the nature of each person, desire and intuition, they consider also that these require certain flexibility, rigidity on the analysis and social conscienciousness, aspects that in their opinion are fundamental and passible to be developed. These authors present and describe three types of competences/skills that they think are necessary to the fulfillment of the reflective teaching: (i) empirical; (ii) analytical and (iii) evaluative. The empirical competences are related to a perception of what happens in the classroom and at school and implies the capacity to gather data, describe situations, processes, causes and effects. The data includes not only the description of what is done and of what is observed but also the feelings and thoughts. The analytical competences correspond to the competences necessary for data interpretation, fundamental for the construction of theories. The evaluation competences involve the capacity of thinking on the educational consequences of the developed work and of being able to use the outcomes in future experiments.

Also Marcelo (1992) recognises the importance of these competences by saying that the teachers have to dominate a set of dexterities or cognitive skills and metacognitive inherent to the reflection process, being fundamental that the teacher´s training, be it initial or permanent, propitiates its development. However, he considers that these dexterities or skills, though necessary, are not sufficient.

Dewey (1989), Cited by Marcelo (1992) describes a set of attitudes and personal teacher´s predispositions that are indispensable in the reflective action. The first, an open mind, is related to the desire for listening and respect different perspectives, taking into account possible alternatives and recognising the possibility of a mistake/error. This attitude forces “an examination of the reasons of what happens in the classroom, investigate the conflictual evidences, look for several answers for the same question, reflect about a way of improving what exists, etc.” (Marcelo, 1992: 62). The second attitude, of responsibility, implies considering the consequences of the developed and planned work, giving certain coherence to what is defended. It is above all, a careful deliberation of the consequences of a certain action or actions. Lastly, the third attitude necessary to reflection is enthusiasm. That is, a predisposition to be questioned, curiosity to be looked for and energy to be renewed.

Also Zeichner (1993), based on Dewey´s ideas, emphasizes the importance of these attitudes in the reflection process. However, warns that responsibility attitude is not related only to the issues of the immediate use such as knowing if the objectives and goals were reached and if they were established at the beginning of a lesson. In this author´s opinion, responsibility implies reflection about three types of teacher´s working consequences: “personal consequences – the effects of the teacher´s teaching on the learners´self concepts; academic consequences – the effects of the teacher´s teaching on the learners´intellectual development; political and social consequences – the effects of the teacher´s teaching on the learners´lives” (p. 19).

          6.8.4 Reflection Content

Zeichner and Liston (1987) establish three different reflection levels or analysis of the school reality. The first, which is called technical reflection, corresponds to an analysis of the explicit actions of the teacher. It consists of on the analysis that the teacher does in the classroom and which is possible to be observed. For example, the way the teacher moves in the classroom, the questions the teacher makes, the way the teacher manages several situations in the classroom that occur, etc. This level of reflection centers itself on the events of the classroom and on the teacher´s actions.

The second level implies planning and reflection. The planning corresponds to what is to be done, according to the knowledge the teacher has about the techniques of instruction and about interests, needs, difficulties and learners´ learning styles. Reflection corresponds to the analysis of what happened and what was observed in the light of theoretical knowledge that the teacher has. This theoretical knowledge includes issues about the nature of the subject that is taught, the learning processes, about learners and the vast schooling objectives. There is here a worry about the presuppositions, values, consequences to which they are linked to (Amaral, Moreira & Ribeiro, 1996).

The last level, which is called for its level of ethical considerations, includes ethical analysis or teacher´s political actions and the teacher´s contextual repercurssion. Reflection falls on the way the institutional and social structures influence the teacher´s work (Amaral et al., 1996). This level of reflection is, on the Zeichner (1993), perspective that is important for the development of the teacher’s critical consciousness about their teaching and the social conditions that model their teaching experience.

          6.8.5 Reflection Product

According to Shulman (1987), reflection is a process from which the teachers develop new compreension be it of the objectives and of the teaching materials, as of the learners and their learning processes. When the teacher, retrospectively, rebuilds the events, remembers the emotions and confronts with what happens with the initial objectives, develops a new comprehension about its teaching.

If Shulman attributes to reflection a fundamental role in the development of a new comprehension, Schön (1983) stresses its importance on the changes of the teacher’s practices. For this author, reflection is a process, which allows the enrichment of the teacher´s repertoire, and improves the teacher´s capacity of problem solving. Through reflection on and about action, the teacher increases knowledge about the teaching and learning processes. Each new experience of reflection, about what happened and about what is happening in the classroom, will increase the teacher´s capacity to act and this will help the teacher in future decision taking. For Schön, reflection constitutes above all, a way of dealing with the practice problems. In trying to put new possibilities towards situations that take place daily and in his activities, the teacher understands his teaching and increases his capacity if identifying problems as well as the implementation of their solutions.

In the same perspective, Morais (1993:28), considers that “reflection about the practices determines new practices that are more adjusted and more efficient”. For this author, besides the good knowledge of the learners and of the teaching and learning strategies, the teacher must develop reflection capacities that will allow him or her solve the problems that take place in the classroom in a fair way. In other words, it is from reflection about the strategies used for the improvement of the learners´ learning that the teacher changes and adjusts the teaching practices. She states also that the reflection/action process constitutes a “generator of a formative research towards the situations that take place in the classroom” (p. 28), by developing the introspection capacities, by giving room to the ideas from others and by analyzing other alternatives and new implications.

Darsie and Carvalho (1996) recognise the importance of reflection, which, is understood as withdrawn reflection, in the rebuilding of teachers knowledge. According to these authors, reflection consists of a process that leads to conscious taking of the proper knowledge, theoretical or practical, from which it is possible, a reorganization of such knowledge. Including in the reflection “distanciada” reflection about an action, these authors emphasize its importance in rebuilding teacher´s practical knowledge that allows him or her to face practical situations and at the same time, trying to improve and modify it.

Thompson (1992) considers that reflection has a very important role in the changes of the teachers’ beliefs. Suggesting the existence of an interaction between conceptions and practices, that is, between what the teachers think and what teachers really do, this author sees reflection as a key factor to enable them reorganize their actions and beliefs. Also Serrazina (1999a), considers that reflection has a fundamental role in the change of the teachers practices and beliefs, being able to contribute for the substantial reorganization of the teaching and change of the teachers´ knowledge.

Zeichner (1993) emphasizes the importance of “critical reflection” about social educational implications. Even recognising the importance of reflection about the aspects that are directly linked to instruction, this author calls attention for the need of including the more general aspects that are related with the teaching and with the social conditions that influence. For this author, the teachers must not concentrate only to the efforts in the seek of more effective and efficient means to reach certain objectives, considering fundamental that there should be questions about the political and social consequences of their teaching in learners´s lives. The author criticizes those who accept passively the daily reality of their schools, defending that reflection viewed in this way, will have an emancipating role of the teaching class. Through the critical analyses and discussion, of what the author calls practical teachers theories, these will have more sayings about the development of their profession.

Also for Alarcão (1996a), the role of reflection is not stuck in a possible structure of the action, being fundamental to allow the teacher´s increasing autonomy. For this author, the object of reflection must include not only the teacher´s activity but also teacher´s function, which imply the knowledge about the reasons of their actions and consciousness of the role the teachers play. In this way, the teachers can conquer the necessary autonomy which, will allow them become active agents of their self-professional development and the functioning of their schools.

          6.8.6 Characteristics of the reflective teacher

Korthagen and Wubbels (2001) present four characteristics that they confer to a reflective teacher and a set of aspects that are related to the development of this capacity. Some of these aspects are generated not only from the proper reflective characteristics that the teachers own but also from their background. The authors refer specifically to the type of training that they had and to the type of situations that they have come across throughout their lives.

The first characteristic that Korthagen and Wubbels (2001) confer to a reflective teacher is related to the importance that is given to the proper reflection. Besides the capacity of structuring situations and problems related to with the teacher´s practice, a reflective teacher considers fundamental to make it. This attitude has its reflections on the type of work that the teacher develops with the learners, stimulating them to reflect. The fulfillment of research activities that involve certain structure by the learners themselves, are examples of work that the teacher with this characteristic values.

On the second place, a teacher with this capacity analyses his or her practices, asking him or herself issues such as: What happened? Why it happened? What implications had my acting about what happened? What should I have done differently? According to Korthagen and Wubbels (2001), this posture is very often related to previous teachers’ experiences, namely, how they come about the situations that required a certain structuring of their problems. They consider also that the way the teachers respond to these issues is influenced by the image that they have of themselves as professionals. For Korthagen and Wubbels (2001), the teachers that own a higher self-concept of efficiency centre reflection on the learners, learning while the ones that own a negative idea of their efficiency tend to focus on themselves.

For these authors, another characteristic of a reflective teacher is the facility with which the teacher identifies aspects above which needs or needs to learn, allowing the teacher structure in a clear way the proper teaching. In this way and according to these authors, the reflective teachers present also higher predisposition in writing and in talking about their own experiences and they develop a higher degree of professional satisfaction easily. These results are from a comparative study fulfilled by Korthagen and Wubbels (2001), which includes teachers taking an initial teacher training course where reflection was an aspect that was highly valued and a control group.

Finally, according to Korthagen and Wubbels (2001), a reflective teacher is able to describe and analyse his or her acting in interpersonal relationships with others. They consider that this aspect assumes particular importance in the improvement of the relationships that the teacher establishes with the learners and on how he or she deals with their individual needs.

          6.8.7 Models of the reflective practice

As it was seen previously, the term reflection can have different meanings according to the understanding that is got of its nature, of its contents, of its role and of the necessary conditions to its fulfillment. The term reflective practice is currently being used in different contexts and with different meanings (Marcelo, 1992). A possibility of analyzing the different models of the reflective practice has to do with the action and reflection such as it peoposed by Weis and Louden (1989), cited by Garcia (1992). These authors, based on this relationship, identify four models of reflective practice that are distinguished essentially by the moments and forms of reflection.

The first form is retrospection that presupposes a relative withdrawing to daily activities. This form of reflection consists on the acquisition and personal analysis of whatsoever has happened in the classroom, and on which the teacher rethinks his or her conceptions and considers his or her thoughts and feelings. The information that is got is not related with the daily activities. It corresponds beforehand to “information about principles of the procedures that are conceptual schemes relatively permanent on the teachers” (Marcelo, 1992:64).

It seems to be in this way that Pombo (1993) perspectivates reflection in the initial teacher training courses, for this author, the reflective activity requires from the future teachers “a critical withdrawing relatively to the proper scientific and pedagogical competence” (p. 41). On the other side, stating that a “reflection is an interrogative activity intentionaly oriented” (p. 41), the author defends that this activity can not be confused with the common sensus, claiming it to the philosophical area. She proposes the introduction of a reflective component in the initial training that must contemplate three domains: educational reflection, that questions the major endings of education, political reflection that discusses the meaning and the functions of school institutions and lastly, epistemological and interdisciplinary reflection that develops the critical capacity of the teacher in relation to the proper wisdom.

The second form, the exam, consists on the reporting of the events or passed actions, present actions or actions that can occur in future. This form of reflection is closer to action by requiring the frequency of events of the school life. The ones that use the concept of narrative unit as a way of having access to teachers´ knowledge through their diaries, interviews or observation are examples of this reflection. We can place in this perspective, Oliveira (1998), who considers that the narratives can have a very important role for the promotion of reflection for the teachers´training colleges and professional development. According to this author, the narratives are a way of representing knowledge resulting from action. Besides being a way from which the teacher thinks about actions, Ramos and Gonçalves (1996) yet refer to its importance in the redimensioning the past and by creating new perspective for the future.

It seems also that this form of reflection supported by Darsie and Carvalho (1996) for the initial teacher training gives value to the use of diary for the written register after each daily lesson. For these authors, the diaries allow the future teachers reflect about their learning, practices, experiences and beliefs that can also promote reflection about teaching in general.

The third form of reflection is searching/indagation. It seems to be in this way that Alarcão (1996a) the development of reflective practice by saying that the reflective teaching takes place through a cyclical process which is called action-reflection-action. After this action, when the teacher describes what he or she did or thought, becomes conscious of the reasons that made the teacher act and furthermore interpreting them. Through interpretation of the teacher´s acts in confrontation with the teacher him or herself and with others, the teacher determines aspects that he or she will alter in his or her practice. Through this process, the teacher knows him or herself as a professional and becomes conscious of the conditions through which he exercises his or her profession. It is in this way that reflection is understood in this work.

Also, for Pollard and Tann (1989), reflective teaching develops through a cyclic process on which teachers continuosly monitor, evaluate and review their practice. The cycle begins with the creation of a plan with the decision taking followed by action. Monitoring the teaching enables the teacher to observe and gather information about him or herself and about learners´intentions, actions and feelings. Afterwards, this set of data must be analysed critically and evaluated and later shared and judged and finally decisions taken. In the end, the teacher reviews his or her options and starts a new cycle, planning and acting according to the outcomes of the reflection he or she does.

According to Marcelo (1992), this form of reflection, besides allowing an analysis of didactical aspects of the teacher´s lesson, it allows also a profound analysis of the causes and the posture of the teacher. For this author, searching/indagation introduces an intention of change of the practice enriching/improving that other forms of reflection do not have/contemplate. This form of reflection appears very often associated with the concept of research-action understood as a model of the reflective practice that allows the teachers analyse their practice identifying at the same time strategies for its improvement.

Spontaneity is the last form of reflection. It refers to the teacher´s thought during the teaching act, giving room for improvisation, problem solving and decision taking towards unpredicted situations that occur in the teacher´s practice. This form of reflection is called by Schön (1983) as reflection-on the-action and it is one that is found closer to action, by being a spontaneous way of teachers´acting and thinking while it (action) occurs.

Lee and Loughran (2000), based on the Schön´s ideas, present a model of reflection-action. Towards a problematic situation, the teacher builds a first idea about the way of solving a problem. This first phase, called pre-reflective is influenced by feelings and emotions, normally of perplexity and surprise, and by the way each teacher thinks about his or her work and by the meaning that is given to such beliefs. This phase is characterized by the construction of a problem and by the attempt of identifying their characteristics. The upcoming phase called by reflective phase is characterized by a construction, that is, by change on the form how the teacher faces initial problematic situations. This reconstruction is done according with the examples repertore, images, comprehension and teacher´s actions. The last phase is called solution. However, the authors warn that, in this phase, the problem may necessarily not be solved; there can be a better understanding that will serve as a basis for the reconstruction and understanding of future problematic situations.

Summing it up, the review done enhances the multiplicity of interpretations of reflective practice depending, essentially, on the concept of reflection that is adopted. It seems consensual that reflection constitutes a process for which it is fundamental the existence of a set of attitudes and predispositions that result not only from the proper reflective characteristics, which the teachers own, but also from their training and situations that they come across throughout their lives. Reflection seems to build also an important strategy for the development of a wider understanding about the teacher´s practices and the teacher´s capacity of solving problems.

6.9 Conclusions and Recommendations

This study meets the current country´s need in expanding and disseminating knowledge and training to the greater number of people.

As it was referred to in section 1.4 of chapter 1 the central problem of this research was:

Will Distance Education, in virtual learning environments, a feasible alternative for the natural sciences and mathematics continuous teacher training, so that he plays his role as a transformer agent of the Mozambican reality?

For its approach, the following research questions were made/asked:

1. How to diagnose the level of use of information technology and communications on the natural sciences and mathematics teachers of the second cycle of general education?

2. What administrative and pedagogic processes orientate/guide planning and organization of post graduation courses ministered via distance education in virtual learning environments?

3. What indicators can orientate the implementation and evaluation of a post graduation course ministered via distance education and based on the virtual learning environments, on e-learning models and video-conference?

4. What teacher´s competences in the classroom can be identified as a guarantee that the objectives of the post graduation program were reached?

This study tried to respond these research questions advocating that the new technologies of information and communication (ITC) are associated to specific objectives of teaching/learning so that it becomes more supported, more participative, more reflected with more student and teachers interaction, more continuous throughout learning. The ITCs and in particular the e-learning technologies and video-conference offer to the teachers several possibilities to develop a model of traditional teaching according to the new references for learning. The integrated academic platform of e-learning and video-conference, offering a wider and integrated set of functions, allowing the creation of distributed environments that can support new approaches of higher education.

On the other side, the interaction and the participation can be improved through communication tools like a computer. This tool can efficiently be supported by the collaborative activities and these can create enriched and authentic environments, creating at the same time, facilitating conditions for understanding the learning environment to society and overtake the understanding of the local nature (1993). The pedagogic strategies of higher education that use efficiently the technologies can promote active learning (Laurillard, 1993) that is student centered, valuing their personal experiences and participation. There should be emphasis on the strategy in which the learning is developed in social environments and in environments that are culturally rich (Figueiredo, 2000) and which contribute for the construction of development contexts of community virtual learning. There is here a reference frame for the conception of support environments to the teaching and learning processes proposed by Jonassen, the constructivist learning environments (CLE – Constructive Learning Environment).

In this way, in exploring educational and learning theories, one can conclude that there are no definite answers due to complexity of the learning moment, that to have a commitment with learning it is already an important indicator of the right path. This is because education ruled only to teaching brought about low educational indexes. Would not then be possible for us to think about quality, in any educational model, persisting in the same old pedagogical models, still stuck to behaviorist education?

It is understood that there is no theory that responds to all questions from who teaches and from who learns, but there are well defined indicators as this study suggests, if they can not ensure quality in education, they can at least show some paths for that.

In this search there was reference in terms of the distance between information and knowledge. There is a will of doubting the simplest discuses about “knowledge management”, “construction of knowledge”, “knowledge dissemination” as it were something depending only on a simple exchange of information. In this way, the researcher defends that knowledge is not built on its own; on the contrary, it is built by the individual that gives meaning from his previous, explicit and implicit knowledge.

The comprehension of quality in education can be understood as going through several variables, that is, it is not only enough to have access to education or even to have access to learning. There is also a need for ensuring more than that, as it requires outcomes of what is being learned. The outcomes today point to an economical modernization and at the same time, to social development. The outcomes of this study state that the distance education needs all of us and it also needs more pedagogic cares than the face-to-face education so that quality is ensured. So, there is a proposal in this study for an academical platform of distance education, which is based on virtual learning environments and on e-learning models and video conference as an attempt of giving support to processes and procedures of HEI that are launched in this teaching model.

This platform had its sustenance in the first two stages of the research that served as a base for its development and it has shown that to be efficient and powerful in its validation according to the outcomes shown in chapter 5. This validation reinforces the idea that for quality in education it is not only the use of high technology nor the fundamental and updated contents that will ensure it, it is not also sufficient the diversity of the resources nor the colourful lessons and animation objects while there is no knowledge about the way things should go, there is no reason for going and how to get to the way, the pedagogical management in inter relation with the technological and administrative management is a determiner of quality of the distance education processes as it is responsible for planning, preparation, operationalization and evaluation of the educational processes. Characteristics like organization, discipline, autonomy, time management, tolerance, knowledge management, criticism, collaboration and to know to deal with several information are essential for the development of an educational project at distance based on virtual learning environments. However, these characteristics do not fit only to the students but also to the teachers who are the conductors of the process as pedagogic and didactical learning facilitators.

Be it on the conception or on the development of the VLE there should be attitudes, factual information, data, observational processes, definitions, deductive and inductive inferences, problem solving and learning strategies considerations.

In this scenery the teaching and learning process administered by the computer and specifically in VLE takes a more flexible character. So, the teaching and learning process in this context seems to take a more dynamic character and above all, the collaborative. The tendency is to amplify in an accelerated way the offer and seek for the distance education courses in its several formats and contents.

The Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are marked by a new time/space relation supported and promoted by the digital technology increase. Besides this, this technology empowers communication and interaction among individuals through different functioning available on the environment. These individuals are able to communicate, participate, cooperate developing at the same time the construction of a collective knowledge.

However, the lack of some clearly defined theoretical principles and suitable national policies gives room for the reproduction of the face to face pedagogical practices in the Virtual Learning Environments, yet in adaptations.

It is believed that the use of the VLEs in teaching and learning processes requires a committed comprehension of this universe, conditions, cultural, institutional and social contexts to suit the teaching and learning processes and give room to the didactical implementations necessary aimed to offer conditions for the generalization of the learning experiences as well as they applicability.

Among the pedagogical challenges that these new spaces present for pedagogy, cognition sciences and computing in the conception, development and implementation phases, there should be detached the need for fundamented theoretical principles in the activity theory that orientates the organization of the teaching work in virtual learning environments of support to learning in the methodological and didactical aspects.

From the didactical point of view, the teacher whose role is teaching in the distance education must have knowledge of a specific area but, above all, he must be able to use appropriate methodological procedures, giving meaning to the curriculum and the teaching practices according to specificity and peculiarities of the didactic and pedagogical objectives aimed to reaching, the target population as well as the media used.

          6.9.1 Academic Contribution

This thesis that had its fundamental objective to respond to a problem regarding the expansion of the continuous teacher training in Mozambique, also ends up contributing to reflection about semi face to face and face to face education. This evidence results from theoretical and empirical the analyses that were carried out. For several times, it had become difficult to say that it was a reflection just for the distance education as it became clear for the researcher that it was discussing education on its plenitude.

In this way, there was an investigation in an attempt of responding to the general objective, which was – Invest in the improvement of teaching in the classroom through natural sciences and mathematics teacher continuous training based on the virtual learning environments – and specific objectives that are organized in four major perspectives:

  

• Diagnose the level of use of information technology and communications by the teachers of the natural sciences and mathematics in the second cycle of the general education;
• 
  
  Reflect on planning and organization of a post graduation course for teachers of natural sciences and mathematics in the second cycle of general education to be ministered at distance, in virtual learning environments, on e-learning models and video conference; 
• 
  
  Adapt, implement and evaluate a post graduation course for natural sciences and mathematics teachers of the second cycle of general education ministered at distance, based on virtual learning environments, on e-learning models and video conference;
• 
  
  Analyse whether the presuppositions of the post graduation program were reached, so that the teacher’s competence in the classroom is reinforced, reducing the rotactivity of the school system.

 The proposed platform

The distance education platform that is presented in table 6.1 is based on two types of distinct equipments, namely the HEI equipment and the Study Centre, which are described below.

HEI Equipment - The HEI equipment is specific and is the base for this whole system. It requires specialized and ergonomic equipment so that it gives highest desire and mobility to teachersers. The system should use MoRENet infra-structure present on the venue, in case this is still not available, they can use the mobile cell net of 3G.

The equipment that is present on the HEI must be highly portable, ergonomic, integrated and oriented to the teachers function during their sessions of video conference. The teacher must be able to move in an independent way and be able to interact directly with the learners from the study centre in audio and video being able to present visual details using a second camera.

The equipment to be installed on the HEI must have capacity to fulfill video conferences and must have the minimum of two cameras. One for that must face the teacher and the other one which must be manipulated by the teacher to present visual, technical-scientific details.

The teacher will also have a headset to be able to interact in audio. This system can also be used for the preparation of complementary contents. The system will allow interacting in a real time contents like slides, photos and documents.

Study Centre Equipment - The equipment allocated to the study centre must be fully re-used. This includes the (sound system, video projector and other hardware).

In general, the study centre must have audio visual basic means like:

• 
  
  Video projector / screen projector;  
• 
  
  Audio visual room (small auditory with sound);  
• 
  
  Video camera and a tripod;  
• 
  
  Wider Band and ADSL connections;  
• 
  
  Table computer or a laptop; 
• 
  
  Video conference system.

In addition, there is a need of organizing a resource centre with net computer that will ensure or serve as a support to e-learning. For example, in this moment, there should be integration to more than 30 community multimedia centres (CMC) already established in the country, as a result of activity program of the technical unit of the implementation of the informatics policy (UTICT), in partnership with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

These centres are on an expansion phase, having a district as its target and with several actors and partners involved. Among which is the computer science centre of the Eduardo Mondlane University (CIUEM), The Technical Implementation Unit of the Computer Science Policy (UTICT), The United Nations for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Each of these centres has three components namely: a radio component (Community Radio), through which the community information, news and other programs produced by the proper community are broatcast in a ray of 50 Km; the computer science component which is made up of an equiped room with computers and printers in net with access to Internet for the community use as well as the reprography component that includes a photocopier aimed to offering reprography services to community.

The CMC are of community base meaning that they are managed by the proper community, having a governance model with several stakeholders namely: the management committee which is the the top governance of CMC and it is made up of community members, members of the district consultive council, members of the district government; the coordinator of the centre – the CMC is managed by a coordinator that belongs to an association which is appointed to manage day to day activities.

Similarly, among several existing associations in the district there is a sellection of one (democratically) that is responsible for the daily management of activities and resources of CMC, regularly reporting to the management committee and which designs the guidelines of the centre, integrating volunteers that are part of a youth group sellected in the community. These youths are the working force of the center and develop several activity areas namely, radio-journalism, computer science and other services like reprography.

The Figure 6.14 presents a detailed functional organigrama of a potential platform of distance education integrating e-learning and video conference.

Figure 6.14: Functional Organigram of Distance Education Platform integrating e-learning and video-conference. Adapted from an on-line school of Tsinghua-University in China (Luzzi, 2007)

The academic platform of teaching and learning would articulate several media pursuing a bidirectional educational process that could allow a broader interaction between teachers and students. So, the platform allows the transmission in a real time to n study centres all over the country and could articulate with other nets of the distance education established/ or to establish by other HEI.

The distance education today results from a strategy of a democratic enlargement of access to quality education, citizen right and state and society duty. As strategy of enlargement of possibilities of access to education, the distance education must deepen the commitment of the pedagogical project with the historical, political and cultural project of the Mozambican society.

It is believed that this study must have reached the objectives it had proposed. Not with the aim of being a salvation board for the distance education, semi face to face education or even the face to face teaching, but to serve as a drive for future researches that may complement, improve or even overcome this study.

  

6.9.2 Practical Contribution

This study will allow the testing and operationalization of MoRENet, yet in its pilot implementation phase, as well as the testing of 3G technologies.

About MoRENet - The MoRENet is a communication platform of higher quality, which was conceived by the Ministry of Science and Technology aimed to providing economically sustainable services to HEI and to research units regardless their size. The MoRENet will allow to the academic community (researchers, teachers and students), access to a private and specific net so that they are able to respond to the increasing and demanding needs of this community.

The MoRENet is characterized by the fact that it is a net of higher performance for the institutions with high communication requirements namely, HEI, Laboratories and/or research institutes and national library. It is a computer science net that uses IP protocol for ensuring a communication platform and collaboration among institutions of the system of higher education, science, technology and culture.

Considering the expressed advantages, the MoRENet serves as an excellent support mean and expansion of the academic platform of distance education teaching and learning based on e-learning models and video-conference.

About the focal group via Internet

The use of technique of focal group via Internet has shown itself as highly positive even considering the obstacles encountered for its development. This method meets the current paradigm of the scientific communication, the communication “all-all”, that is why it must be provided, as from this it is possible to get ideas, train the users and publish the available resources in the virtual learning environments.

In this technique, the use of emoticons allows the transmission of feelings as complement to the dialogues, as well as the other available technological resources like teleconferences, software with webcam, audio.

It is noted that for a good attendance among the members of the focal online group the knowledge of the use of the chat rooms must be homogeneous within the group, that is, if necessary there should be a short training before the meeting.

          6.9.3 Limitations of the Study

The process of data gathering in the general secondary schools was very sluggish and painful because of greater distances that separates these kinds of schools. The railway connections make the process more complicated and financially onerous/disgusting combined with a relative incompatibility in terms of the available time, the teacher´s and the researcher´s tasks.

The other limitation of this study had to do with the time for a teacher to participate in a deep interview. This type of interview was conceived to be given to the teachers from one of the HEI aimed to initial training for the natural sciences and mathematics teachers. Towards the difficulties encountered by the teacher in administrating the time, the interviews ended up being fulfilled by a reduced number of teachers that showed availability and interest by this methodological procedure. Although time is considered as a core element in teacher´s life, there was an understanding/feeling that it was not only the lack of the physical time but also lack of will in participating in the study.

          6.9.4 Recommendations

In believing that this work has brought relevant contributions for distance education, there is a proposal that there should be a continuation of research about this system in the aspects that follow:

1. 
   
   Development of a management tool for processes and people for the educational institutions, combined with the pedagogical, technological and administrative management; 
2. 
   
   There should be a deepening of research about administrative and technological processes for the distance education;
3. 
   
   There should be a linguistic contribution in the development of didactical materials and support to students of distance education;
4. 
   
   There should be some development of evaluation methodologies of processes and outcomes for distance education;

There is a lot to be researched and there are still gaps to be filled. These are just some of the worries that do not comfort this researcher-learner.

The creation of means for the distance education and teaching supported by computers can bring about advantages for HEI aimed to teachers’ initial training. This fact can be viewed as an opportunity for publishing/broadcasting a modern image to outside and at the same time, increase hypothesis of inviting more students, making teaching more operational.

The researcher believes that, in his first experience, the outcomes got reveal that the video conference serves as a means for facilitating learning and not as an end in itself. In the transformation context that the world lives today, there was technology shown which can be used so that learning takes place being combined with other forms of education, be it a face to face or at distance.

In finishing this study, the researcher shows evidence to the importance of the use of video conference while a resource to be explored in educational teaching and research situations, given its capacity of optimizing qualification actions at distance.

This is to say that it is not only enough to know the contents of the book to be able to become a teacher, also it is not enough to use this study stage by stage as a manual to provide distance education of quality in virtual learning environments. Though, besides this, there are other professional competences found on the so-called linguists, graphic designers and teachers. These are the professionals in interaction with many cited ones that made up the multidisciplinary team that gives life to the system and ensures the efficient management of processes and when well structured and organized can constitute in an embryo of an Open Distance School of a given HEI.