National council of education: the unveiling of the trajectory of higher distance education in Brazil

Abstract

This article results from a scientific research and aims to analyze the normative acts of the Federal Council of Education (FCE) and the National Education Council (NEC) to demonstrate the trajectory of distance higher education until its consolidation by educational legislation. The qualitative and documental data of this research were collected in the publications of the magazine Documenta and reports the proposals, initiatives and experiences of distance education (ED) in higher education since the beginning of the 1970s. It is concluded that the FCE contributed to studies on the use of ED in higher education, barring its growth without appropriate structure and specific regulation. However, at the end of its term, the entity began authorizing distance courses in the private sphere. With the NEC, created to replace the FCE, there was a decrease in studies and discussions about the modality and an increase in its career activity.