Syllabuses evaluation of mechanics in Distance degree in Physics

Abstract

This article aims to present the methodology and preliminary results of an analysis of syllabuses disciplines
of General Mechanics in distance courses degree in Physics offered by public institutions of higher education
in Brazil in 2010. The desired approach is supported to one evidence and two assumptions: the evidence is the
rapid growth of distance education in Brazil, recognized its irreversibility in the current educational context
and its potential for training and qualification; the first assumption is that the research in science education
and the application of its results are catalysts for improving Brazilian education, and, second, that the General
Mechanics sets the conceptual structuring axis of a scientifically critical and reflective thinking, put in the
service of qualified higher education in Physics . Established these principles, there is the following problem:
how to configure the degree courses in physics in distance mode in the fabric of General Mechanics? To what
extent the educational projects of these courses and their curricula are positioned opposite a conventional
curriculum Mechanics General requirements established in the Brazilian educational system? The search for
answers to these questions implies a contrast between the educational projects of undergraduate courses in
Physics and measuring the distance of his approach to a conventional curriculum of General Mechanics,
academic and legally defined.