Brazil

Current national educational system

Brazil is a presidential federative republic. It is the largest country in Latin America and the 5th largest in the world and, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE, 2021), the population projection for the year 2021 exceeds 212 million inhabitants. The country is divided into 27 federative units (26 states and the Federal District) and 5,570 municipalities, (see Figure1).

Socio-political context and implications for teaching/educational policy

Brazil was ruled by a military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985. After the restoration of democracy, the Federal Constitution (CF) of 1988, known as the “Citizen Constitution”, was promulgated. According to Article 6 of the CF, the right to education is a social right that must be guaranteed by the State and the family. Chapter III, Section I of the FC deals exclusively with Brazilian education. Together with the 1996 Law of Directives and Bases of National Education (LDB), it regulates the current Brazilian educational system.

It is the State’s duty to guarantee free and compulsory public education for citizens from 4 to 17 years of age, as well as to offer free basic education to adults who have not completed it at the required age (Brazil, 1988, art. 208). According to the CF (art. 206), education will be provided based on the principles of: i) equal conditions for access and permanence in school; ii) freedom to learn, teach, and research; iii) pluralism of ideas and educational conceptions, and coexistence of public and private educational institutions; iv) gratuity of public education in official establishments; v) guarantee of quality standards; vi) guarantee of the right to education and lifelong learning; among others.

As established in the CF and LDB, the Union will apply, annually, never less than 18%, and the states, the Federal District, and the municipalities 25% of the revenue resulting from taxes, for the maintenance and development of education. The percentage invested in education, however, is not sufficient for the realisation of the right to education.

According to the data pointed out in 2021 by the National Education Plan (PNE) Observatory, which aims to monitor the agenda guiding educational policies in the country, the twenty goals for Brazilian education, which must be met by the year 2024, have not yet reached their objectives. Table 1 shows the data obtained for two goals.

Table 1. Partial Results of the PNE Goals according to the Observatory

Goals PNE 2014-2024	Observatory Data
GOAL 3: Make school attendance universal for the entire population between the ages of 15 (fifteen) and 17 (seventeen) by 2016 and raise, by the end of the period this PNE is in force, the net enrolment rate in secondary education to 85% (eighty-five percent)	94.5% of 15–17-year-olds were in school in 2020.   75.4% of 15- to 17-year-olds were attending this stage in 2020.
GOAL 16: To train, at the post-graduate level, 50% (fifty percent) of teachers in basic education, until the last year of this PNE, and ensure that all basic education professionals receive continuous training in their area of work, considering the needs, demands and contextualization of education systems.	48.1% of Basic Education teachers had postgraduate degrees in 2019.   37.9% of Basic Education teachers had access to continuing education in 2019.

According to the OECD, in 2018 only 18% of the population aged 25 to 64 in Brazil had completed tertiary education, and 47% had not even completed secondary education. These percentages differ greatly from the OECD average (see Figure 2).

Current trends in educational policy and practice (e.g. relevant curricular reform cycles) & regional differences

The Brazilian Education System is divided into two levels of education, basic and higher education. Basic education comprises three stages: early childhood education (nursery school and pre-school), primary education (1st to 9th grade) and secondary education (1st to 3rd grade) (see Table 2).

Table 2. Organization of the Levels of Education

Although Brazilian curriculum schools follow the National Common Curriculum Base (BNCC, 2018), the country has large regional asymmetries when it comes to education, especially regarding each state’s investment. In relation to teachers’ salaries, for example, in 2018 the Ministry of Education stipulated the wage floor at R$ 2,455.35 for a 40-hour journey per week. Figure 2 presents the wage floor for each state and the Federal District, with Maranhão being the state with the highest value (R$ 5,751.00) and Rio Grande do Sul with the lowest value (R$ 1,298.00), not reaching the established floor.

 

Current international examinations (PISA, TIMSS)

Brazil takes part in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted every three years by the OECD. This is an information report on the performance of 15-year-old students. With this, it is possible to compare data collected and relate it to learning and the main factors that influence it, and to formulate educational policies and programmes aimed at improving the quality and equity of learning outcomes (Brazil, 2020).

PISA assesses three domains—Reading, Mathematics and Science. In Brazil, around 600,000 students took part in the PISA, representing a portion of the total 32 million students from all the countries involved. Brazilian students scored 413 in reading, 384 in mathematics and 404 in science, scores below the OECD average (see Figure 1).