Professor Maria Alice Carraturi has an impressive résumé. She holds a Ph.D. in Education from the Faculty of Education at USP (FE-USP), a master’s degree in Education from FE-USP, a degree in educational psychology from Unicamp, and a degree in education from PUC-SP. A researcher in new technologies for education and a specialist in teacher training, she is currently the director of content at Bett Educar, the largest education and technology event in Latin America. Prior to that, she served as rector/president of the Virtual University of the State of São Paulo (Univesp) and director of Training for Basic Education Professionals at the Ministry of Education.

And to think that all of this came from the example she saw at home. “My mother was a teacher and encouraged me to pursue that career as well. In the end, all five of her children work in education. That public school elementary teacher had a huge influence,” acknowledges Maria Alice, who began teaching while still in teacher training college at age 16. “It was a preschool, and I started as a literacy instructor. As I advanced through each level of education, I also taught at more advanced levels. In the Education program, I taught in the Teacher Training program; in the Master’s program, I taught in the Education program and other courses; I held university administrative positions; and I worked in graduate studies. After earning my doctorate, I became a university president, so I can say that I have worked at every level of education. Today, I enjoy working on educational strategies and public administration,” she explains.

Distance Learning

Maria Alice has been working in teacher training for over 20 years and has advised on the implementation of distance learning at several universities across the country. “I started with distance learning in the 2000s. There were many barriers, ranging from technological ones to internal ones—prejudice, lack of knowledge, limited research, and little practical experience. We made a lot of mistakes trying to transpose the in-person model to distance learning. I think that after 20 years, some things have changed in terms of methodology and research on distance learning; technology is more accessible and much more user-friendly,” she says.

For the professor, the greatest contribution of distance learning has been to democratize access to higher education in the country. “Here in Brazil, when distance learning first began in higher education, it was recognized as a cost-effective model, which is why tuition fees were set at one-third of those for in-person courses. As a result, it is a more affordable option than traditional education, which allows many people to access it. Furthermore, it is flexible and reaches areas where traditional education does not. For these reasons, we can say that distance learning democratizes access to higher education—something that was unthinkable for many young people and adults before its implementation,” she says.

Technology in the Classroom

With technology becoming increasingly accessible—just look at the number of young people and adults who own a smartphone today, which allows for a multitude of activities, such as communicating, searching, reading, playing games, studying, and accessing information, products, and services—how can its capabilities be harnessed to benefit education? For teacher Maria Alice, we live fully in a connected world, and schools are also part of this world. “Keeping up with technological advances is no easy task, since schools prepare for a type of technology that is quickly rendered obsolete. That’s why it’s far more important to foster critical thinking in students than to simply adopt new technologies. We don’t need to master every current technology, but we do need to understand what they’re for, how they work, and why they’re used,” she concludes.

The country still needs to do its “homework”

Professor Maria Alice Carraturi believes that, as a country, Brazil has not yet done its part to ensure literacy and satisfactory educational outcomes at every stage of basic education. “We still owe this to this generation. This is our main challenge: to ensure that children and young people receive a satisfactory education at the right age. The solutions, in my view, must come from public policy—for example, by improving teacher training, their working conditions in schools, and making the teaching profession attractive and valued in society. We know from OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) studies that the factor with the greatest impact on a student’s learning is the teacher; therefore, education can only improve if we place teachers in the position of importance they deserve in a society that aspires to be fair and educated,” she says.

And to improve teacher training, the educator advocates for the creation of a national policy to enhance the teaching profession—one that begins with initial training, addresses the need for professional development through continuing education, supports career advancement, and extends all the way through retirement. “If we continue to fragment each segment, we will continue to see the same results. It is important to open a dialogue between basic education—which receives the graduates—and higher education—which trains them—so that we can discuss what it means to be a good teacher in today’s world and design a short-, medium-, and long-term plan to achieve that goal,” she states.

Another point Maria Alice raises for reflection is the need to treat teacher training with the same seriousness as, for example, medical training. “Today we have 1.6 million students enrolled in teacher education programs, most of them in Pedagogy. We have to ask ourselves whether the more than 7,000 programs are of good quality and are producing the good teachers who will ensure students’ learning. Are they?” she asks.