Abstract:

The pandemic scenario, at the beginning of the 21st century, has led many higher education institutions to adopt emergency remote learning, transforming their pedagogical practices and changing the school's functioning, which was mostly based on the dynamics and face-to-face interaction between teachers and students. The UNESCO International Commission presented, in 2021, the Report Reimagining our futures together: a new social contract for education, which questions the role of education in building our common future by 2050 and expresses the relevance of digital technologies. It was within this framework that this research was conducted with the purpose of carrying out a comparative study between two higher education institutions in Brazil and two higher education institutions in Portugal. The objectives that guided this study were the following: to compare the perceptions of students in the pandemic scenario on teaching practices using technologies and to analyse the repercussions and impact on learning. To carry out this research, a methodology was chosen which consisted of the construction and validation of a questionnaire composed of open and closed multiple-choice questions. The questionnaire was applied during the period of confinement, when classes were being held in the emergency remote teaching modality. The sample was intentional (Brazil N=108; Portugal N=82). The data treatment followed the quantitative (multiple choice questions) and qualitative (open questions) method. The results obtained reflect a similarity of positive factors regarding the online learning modality made available and as an enabler of digital competences, despite the fact that the students surveyed come from two countries which are geographically very distant and different in cultural and socio-political terms. The results show that, in both institutions in Brazil, the students surveyed are female and are ≥ 35 years old. In Portugal they are also mostly female but are ≤35 years old. The negative points identified come from the deficit of socialization and interaction with colleagues and teachers, internet failures and the scarcity of digital pedagogical devices. The Brazilian students in this study show more concern than the Portuguese students about the lack of adequate computer equipment to follow the classes on line. This research allows us to conclude that remote teaching mirrors and deepens social inequality as students with greater social vulnerability have more difficulty in accessing technologies in virtual classes. This research allows us to conclude that the adaptation, by teachers and students, to digital platforms will configure, in the post-pandemic period, the option for hybrid education by making time management and economy compatible.

Keywords:

Remote education, higher education students, Portugal, Brazil, pandemic scenario.