Expansion without equity: an analysis of current policy on access to higher education in Brazil

Access to higher education in Brazil is to a large extent restricted to the higher socioeconomic groups. Public universities have limited places and entry is determined by highly competitive exams, thereby excluding those who have not had a high quality secondary education or attended an expensive preparatory course. There has been considerable growth in the private sector to absorb the excess demand, but the majority of Brazilians cannot afford the fees. This paper develops a concept of equity in higher education in which, firstly, there should be sufficient places in the system as a whole and, secondly, all people should have a fair opportunity of attending the university of their choice regardless of socioeconomic background. Recent efforts to expand access are analyzed, including incentives for the growth of private universities, student loans and the new Prouni initiative, in which private institutions provide free places to low-income students in return for tax exemptions. While these initiatives have the potential to increase the total number of places, they will not lead to an equitable expansion, as disadvantaged students will still be confined to courses of lower quality or with lower subsequent value on the employment market. Initiatives aimed at the public sector such as the introduction of quotas and changes to entry examinations are also discussed. Finally, some implications for future policy development are outlined

A 'seamless enactment' of citizenship education

Educational undertakings are subject to disjunctures at three separate stages: in the creation of curricular programmes, in the implementation of these curricula in practice and in their effects on students. These disjunctures are the result of complex `leaps' between ends and means, and between ideal and real. This article proposes a response in the form of `seamless enactment', applied here to citizenship education. Seamless enactment involves, first, the harmonisation of the principles underlying the different stages in the passage of the curriculum, avoiding problematic tensions between, for example, democratic aims and undemocratic teaching practices. Second, it requires the involvement of teachers and students in the design and development of the educational initiative, as well as in its implementation. Taken to its fullest extent, seamless enactment involves a unification of the separate stages, leading to the collapsing of the curricular transposition framework onto a single point. Finally, some possible justifications for and potential objections to the notion are considered

The Growth of Private Higher Education in Brazil: Implications for Equity and Quality

There has been a dramatic growth in private higher education in Brazil in recent years. The World Bank has promoted this expansion on the basis of the private providers’ ability to ensure a rapid increase in enrolment, to improve quality through competition between institutions and to bring benefits for society at little public cost. However, the charging of fees means that the majority of Brazilians do not have access, and that inequalities are reproduced due to the relation between course costs and the value of the final diploma. Equitable access is, therefore, far from being achieved and is unlikely even with an increase in student loans and government subsidies. The contribution of private universities to the long-term development of society is seen to be limited, due to lack of investment in research and academic staff

Towards an understanding of the means-ends relationship in citizenship education

While it is clear that all educational undertakings consist of ends and means, the relationship between the two is far from straightforward. This article proposes a framework for understanding the relationship in the context of citizenship education. Qualitative research was undertaken of three educational initiatives in Brazil: the schools of the Landless Movement, the Plural School framework in the city of Belo Horizonte, and the Voter of the Future programme, run by the Electoral Tribunals. Case studies were carried out of each, involving documentary analysis, interviews and observations. Analysis of the relationship between ends and means in each case gave rise to two key frames: the first, ‘proximity’, refers to the extent to which ends and means are separate or unified; the second, ‘rationale’, refers to the grounds on which means are chosen. Finally, the implications of this framework for understanding curriculum are drawn out

Educating citizens for participatory democracy: a case study of local government education policy in Pelotas, Brazil

A case study was undertaken of Pelotas, a large town in southern Brazil, where a recent government of the Workers’ Party (PT) implemented a range of social policy reforms. The study draws on interviews with key members of the Municipal Secretariat of Education and policy documents, analyzing them in relation to theoretical literature on citizenship and education. The Pelotas approach is seen to be distinctive for its emphasis on active political participation as a citizen’s right and as a means to social justice for all. The local government also places a higher value on critical and autonomous attitudes towards the authorities than on cultivating allegiance to the municipality or nation-state

Curricular transposition in citizenship education

The considerable debate in recent years on the aims of citizenship education has not been accompanied by an equally substantial discussion on the educational processes involved. This article puts forward a theoretical framework, referred to as ‘curricular transposition’, for understanding the complex task of realizing normative ideals of citizenship through education. The framework highlights four stages in the educational process: the ideals and aspirations underlying an initiative; the curricular programme designed to achieve them; the programme’s implementation in practice; and its effects on students. The ‘leaps’ between these stages – involving movement between ends and means and between ideal and real – are highly problematic. These ideas are explored in the context of an empirical case: the Voter of the Future programme in Brazil. Disjunctures are observed at the different stages – in particular, a lack of ‘harmony’ between ends and means, and a lack of teacher ownership of the initiative in the process of implementation – leading to divergence between the initial aims and actual effects. Finally, broader implications of the curricular transposition framework for citizenship education are drawn out

School democratization in prefigurative form: two Brazilian experiences

Recent moves towards greater pupil participation in school decision-making have in part been based on instrumental rationales, such as increases in test scores and improvements in behaviour. This article assesses a different approach - that of the 'prefigurative' - through which the school embodies the democratic society it aims to create.Two examples of prefigurative initiatives in Brazil are assessed: The Landless Movement, a social movement for agrarian reform that runs a large network of schools in its rural communities, and the Plural School, a framework of social inclusion in the municipal education system of Belo Horizonte. Qualitative case studies of the two showed significant enhancement of the democratic culture of the schools and changes in the teacher-student relationship. However, a number of problematic issues were also raised, including the difficulties in extending participation to the whole student body, and the tensions with teachers when students began to exert greater influence in school. Finally, the implications of these prefigurative cases for an understanding of education for democratic citizenship are drawn out

Climate change in higher education: a curriculum topography approach

Learning about climate change is widely recognised as an important outcome for higher education students. However, there is uncertainty as to the best way to incorporate issues of climate into the curriculum, whether as a stand-alone module, through infusion across courses, through interdisciplinary provision, or informal activities. Furthermore, there is resistance in some quarters to introduction of this content, on account of the contested values involved, the overcrowding of the syllabus, and lack of specialist experience. This paper addresses the arguments for including climate change in the higher education curriculum, assessing the different forms of learning needed by citizens and professionals, the role of the university as institution, and the different potential forms of integration. The paper puts forward a proposal for a topography approach, one that sees the role of the university not as teaching climate change, but as curating a diverse environment of learning experiences. The proposed framework sees learning as being distributed across three spaces (classroom, campus and community) and characterised by features of access (availability, voluntariness and continuity), ownership (agency, malleability and certification) and connection (embeddedness, application, disciplinarity, transmodality, collaboration and experientiality). While universities will display diverse topographies depending on their contextual characteristics, there are important normative considerations which must be taken into account, namely: building on students’ existing knowledge, criticality, non-coercion and epistemic pluralism

The climate crisis as a driver for pedagogical renewal in higher education

The planetary crisis facing humanity makes essential the incorporation of learning about climate change and sustainability in the university curriculum. Yet the ooting of climate change in values, knowledge systems and societal structures means that this incorporation must be more than just addition of knowledge content into a pre-existing curricular template. This article argues that the shifts required in a deep treatment of the climate crisis serve a broader purpose in driving positive change in university teaching and learning. Even within the confines of existing disciplinary divisions and mainstream epistemologies, possibilities exist for deepening critical reflection, pushing boundaries and opening imagination. The article explores this potential through an assessment of three spheres of enquiry: the ontological, epistemological and axiological. The teaching of these areas should be underpinned by the complimentary pedagogical foundations of critical questioning and deliberation, leading to a virtuous cycle of deepening of understanding and connection

Internationalisation and Climate Impacts of Higher Education: Towards an Analytical Framework

Internationalisation of higher education has diverging implications for climate change, on the one hand entailing greenhouse gas emissions through mobility, but also contributing to climate action through international collaboration. These apparent contradictions and resulting trade-offs present significant challenges to universities. This paper puts forward a framework for understanding the combination of impacts, the interactions between them and implications for the climate crisis. It distinguishes between three dimensions of internationalisation: actors (movements of students and staff), practices (integration of the international into curriculum and research) and influence (the global reach of the various impacts of the university). Internationalisation in these three dimensions can have positive or negative implications for climate action and sustainability, through direct impacts (greenhouse gas emissions) and indirect ones (changes in individuals, societal structures, knowledge and technologies). Implications are drawn out for the actions and strategies of universities, as well as for the global system of higher education