Tutoria, prática docente e condições de trabalho: um olhar sobre a atividade do tutor no Curso de Pedagogia a distância da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia

Abstract

At a Distance Education has grown substantially in recent years and, as a result there is a spreading of people working on tutoring all over the country. At a Distance Education is also shared by several actors and a new figure emerges in this context the tutor whose task is our object of study. This work assumes that the structure of the at a Distance Education model established by the Universidade Aberta do Brasil does not allow any kind of employment relationship between those involved in at a Distance Education and the institution in which they work. From this assumption, we can say that such workers lack adequate work conditions and this fact ultimately lead to precarious work. We believe that tutoring is configured as an activity that fits into the context of the relationship between education and work. Within these relations work is organized according to a capitalist logic with several contradictions, which include working conditions, payment, among others. Recognizing tutoring as an activity that includes teaching assignments was therefore one of the main concerns that motivated this research. The study presents an analysis of the years 1990 to 2013, being this last one the period in which data collection was done. We have used the qualitative research method, performing the collection of information from books, digital media, and using as instruments questionnaires and semi-structured interviews sent by email. The application of instruments for data collection questionnaire and interview was conducted with whole body of tutors in the course of Pedagogy at a Distance of the Federal University at Uberlândia. After data collection and their analysis we found that tutors recognize that their task is performed under working conditions that can lead to insecurity, and also understand that tutoring is teaching. Although tutoring has characteristics inherent to teaching, tutors are not included in any professional category. Such activity is \'helpless\' in legal terms and thus the tutor is configured as a subject without a place and without adequate recognition in at a Distance Education, although several scholars claim that tutoring is very important for the consolidation of that modality. We then point out to the need to regulate tutoring, once it is necessary that the tutor is recognized as teacher-tutor, thus allowing the construction of a representation in society and hence the construction of an identity.