Education Co.: e-Learning Hegemony in Architecture and Urbanism in Brazil

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the current panorama of Architecture and Urbanism (AU) teaching in Brazil, focusing on the significant expansion of undergraduate courses offered in Distance Education (EaD) modality in recent years. This trend has been driven by factors such as: the state divestment in public Higher Education Institutions (IES), the influence of economic groups that control the private education sector, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The research is based on the quantitative and qualitative data interpellation — extracted from the e-MEC and discussions found in the literature — in order to criticize the given reality. The analyses demonstrate the private IES hegemony in this segment, in which the current market logic — maximum profit — results in lowering quality due to infrastructure and personnel costs reduction, the teaching-learning process weakening, and homogenization of places and subjects. Also noteworthy is the public IES infrastructure dismantling as an obstacle to in-person education, although this segment still shows more resistance to adhering to EaD modality. Finally, it is expected that the analysis will encourage us to think about counter-hegemonic ways to overcome this situation and reinforce the arguments in defense of the AU teaching quality and dimension of in-person teaching in Brazil.