ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the recent evolution of the Brazilian education and training system and its impacts in terms of educational and broader social and economic outcomes. It is established that investment in the publicly funded school system has risen sharply as, in partial response to conditional cash transfer programs, the authorities have had to respond to increasing enrolment rates. The sharp increase in quantitative provision does not seem to have come at the cost of a reduction in quality: Brazil’s position in the global educational rankings as evidenced by the Pisa scores has remained broadly static. However, compared with some of its emerging market counterparts, let alone the advanced industrial economies, Brazil has a long way to go if it is to begin to match their levels of educational attainment at primary and secondary levels. While the vocational education and training system has experienced rather less dramatic change yet again, a clear gap remains between performance in Brazil and that achieved among the OECD nations. Although universities and higher education institutions have undoubtedly become more socially inclusive and internationalised, they have faced difficulties in climbing global rankings and are now having to grapple with severe funding cuts.
