COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF VENEZUELA (UNA) AND THE NATIONAL DISTANCE EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF COSTA RICA (UNED)

This paper, based on a documentary research, has as an objective to fulfill a partial comparative study under the Comparative Approach of George Bereday, between the National Distance Education University of Costa Rica (UNED) and the Open University of Venezuela (UNA). To take the functionalism as a theoretical approach forces to examine education in its context emphasizing the intense interrelation of it with its environment. The final hypothesis of comparison is: In spite of the fact the UNA and the UNED originated from a common project, based on a technocratic conception of curriculum and with a clear purpose of forming human resources and extending the offer in higher education using as a mark the distance education methodology, the particular conditions of each educative context within its own social reality give birth to shades and differences that make each institute singular in its own way.