Abstract

HENRIQUES, Susana et al. Distance learning and professional competences development: Analysis based on graduate’s perception. Forum Sociológico [online]. 2020, n.37, pp.49-62.  Epub Aug 05, 2021. ISSN 0872-8380.  https://doi.org/10.4000/sociologico.9511.

Who are the students who choose Distance Higher Education? What are their expectations and satisfaction with the online courses? What are the impacts of the course on UAb student professional and personal life? The present article focuses on these questions following a theoretical framework that mobilizes studies searching for answers to new audiences and new needs in current societies. The methodological design followed the application of a survey, designed within the scope of the Observatório dos Percursos Profissionais e de Vida dos Diplomados da Universidade Aberta, to the students who finished their degree in 2014 and 2015. The results refer to a global satisfaction with the accomplishment of the degree online, insofar as they reveal comfort in using the platform and recognize advantages in e-learning. The social prestige associated with the higher education diploma stands out. We conclude that research on the phenomenon of employability in higher education needs further development. Adult students have a set of differentiated needs, mostly related more to the acquisition of skills to improve their professional conditions, employability and the development of their careers. Data in this study reinforce the idea of lifelong education associated with distance learning as an important way of developing and acquiring not only knowledge, but also transversal competences that are fundamental to all contexts of life and for professional mobility.

Keywords : employability; higher education graduates; profiles and skills.

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