Abstract:

The distance education courses presuppose tutors to carry out the necessary pedagogical mediation with the students, often separated by time and different geographical locations. This article aims to reflect on the role of the presential tutor in the light of the demands imposed by the contemporaneity in which the student needs to be constantly stimulated, encouraged and often driven to reach the levels of an autonomous and meaningful learning. In this perspective, this paper revisits the main theoretical frameworks and, from a methodological point of view, it is configured as an exploratory-descriptive research with a qualitative approach, using as data collection procedure either from the literature and from a case study. The case study was conducted in a Brazilian associated center of a higher education institution, accredited to offer courses in distance education. The research involved 40 students from several post-graduation distance courses, as well as it included the team of 03 presential tutors and 01 academic coordinator of the associated center. The data collection instruments consisted either a questionnaire answered electronically by the students and also a semi-structured interview with tutors and academic coordination. The results of the field research indicate that both the team of tutors as well as the coordination, understand the importance of their proactive role in pedagogical mediation with the students. In addition, the redefinition of the presential tutor role at the associated center is contributing to a downward trend in the student’s evasion rate. This article concludes by emphasizing the need to implement an intense work pedagogical mediation of tutor, so that the student perceives as belonging to the academic community, and especially encouraged to carry on and, above all, transposing the motivational and intellectual barriers.

Keywords:

Tutor, Role, Tutorial practice, Distance Education.