This post says about the benefits of the improvement of education in Brazil and tell us some of its systematic problems. The high school reform was a good initiative and I hope all states in Brazil can make its implementation next year. The population of Brazil can not and do not want to wait more for this reform. We all should give education the importance it has. There are many reasons to urgent and greater investment in education explained in this post, such as: the demographic window, besides many countries like Brazil possibly being in the middle income trap. This post is a summary of an article with the title above published in 2012 at http://www.american.edu/cas/economics/ejournal/upload/global_majority_e_journal_3 sandoval.pdf
Brazil has become an economic powerhouse in both Latin America and the developing world. Despite recent success, inequality still persists at high levels. The substandard education system is a contributor to this inequity; however, education reform also represents one of the most effective tools for further growth and a more equal distribution of income. This article investigates how Brazil's failure to raise school learning standards incurs negative long-term effects and outlines the economic benefits of a higher quality education. Brazil is arguably the preeminent economy in Latin America. As the fifth largest country in the world (in both area as well as population), Brazil benefits from vast natural resources and human capital. Human development has not risen proportionally to economic growth. A significant contributing factor to persistent income inequity is the low attainment and low quality of education in Brazil. Abadzi (2007) points out that most children attend both primary ans secondary school, but suffer from some of the highest rates of grades repetition and dropout rates in the world. Investment in quality education is imperative to economic growth. Brazil is undergoing a demographic window of opportunity, and dependency ratios are projected to fall until 2025. To foster a educated workforce, policymakers must make more investments in effective education methods. Reform that demand more efficient use of time and enhance the quality of education are absolutely necessary to sustain growth. As an emerging economy, much research concentrates on Brazil's economic development. A wide variety of publications also discuss the economic benefits of a higher quality education, demographic shifts, systemic failures in the education system, and policy implications to correct resulting inefficiencies. The following four publications are some of the most recent and most comprehensive research papers related to these issues, either referring or focusing on Brazil. 1) A World Bank policy research paper written in 2007 by Helen Abadzi, analyzes systemic problems in education in several countries including Brazil. Her findings reveal that: teachers are often absent from their posts and use time inefficiently. More importantly, the paper has a discussion of policy implications that encourage better teaching pedagogies as well as recommendations for decreasing rates of absenteeism. 2) Another 2007 World Bank policy research paper by Eric Hanushek and Ludger Wobmann explores the link between educational quality and economic growth. According to their analysis, policies that aim to improve education systems in developing nations have significant economic returns. The authors find that long-term reforms to education will substantially increase GDP compared to countries that make no changes. Additionally, the research establishes that quality of education has more implications on economic growth than merely increasing the quantity of schooling. The claim of this report rests heavily on these findings, asserting that education is among the most important investments the brazilian government can make to sustain economic growth. 3) Bernardo Queiroz and Casio Turra's (2010) report entitled "Window of Opportunity: Socioeconomic Consequences of Demographic Changes in Brazil" discusses recent economic growth in Brazil in relation to population dynamics. They attribute a large working age population and failing dependency ratios as significant causes of recent growth. However, if Brazilian policymakers fail to reallocate public funds to help younger generations, the economy will miss a closing demographic window. The analysis suggest that education reform is paramount to continue economic development and action must be immediate. 4) The analysis by Alain de Janvry, Frederico Finan and Elisabeth Sadoulet (2006) is helpful in assessing the efficacy of cash transfer programs in Brazil. And illustrate how the programs increases attendance and decrease dropout rates. It comes to conclusion that Brazil's cash transfer programs are an efficient use of government money that has the potential to alleviate poverty and further policy innovations should follow these types of programs. Brazil has also experienced demographic changes that present economic challenges as well as opportunities. Life expectancy has increased since 1960, which implies that more stress is placed on some public programs, especially the pension system. Despite increasing life expectancy, the age dependency ratio, defined as the ratio of dependents (people younger than 15 years and older than 64 years) to the working-age population has fallen in Brazil. Declining fertility rates result in a growing working-age population, and constitue a demographic window of opportunity, which will however close soon. The forthcoming closing of the demographic window suggest that Brazilian policymakers need to make pragmatic investments, especially in the education sector. Hanushek and Wobmann (2007) articulate a clearer relationship between the quality of education and economic growth. By focusing on developing cognitive skills with better methods, "income levels improve mainly through speeding up technological process rather than shifting the level of production function or increasing the impact of an additional year of schooling." Further analysis suggest that enhancing the quality of education has large benefits for economic growth. Brazil is currently experiencing a demographic transition. Due to a decline in birth rates and increase in life expectancy, the working age population will continue to grow until about 2025. This period is often referred to as a "demographic window" because changes in age structure can have significant economic benefits if necessary investments are made before dependency ratios increase. This process boosts GDP over time. As Cardoso and Verner (2008) suggest, "high enrollment rates do not translate into high completion rates or into a high level of schooling by school leavers." They hypothesize that a rise in teen pregnancy contributes to these discouraging statistics. As Cunningham and Jacobsen (2008) point out, "family background has an impact on education attainment and grade repetition." For mant girls, families hardly discourage the decision to leave school. Additionally, studies suggest that an inadequate use of classroom time is one reason why funding does not correlate with higher quality. High rates of teacher absenteeism have devastating effects, such as decline in reading fluency, high dropout rates, and high repetition rates. Studies conducted in the Brazilian state of Pernanbuco illustrate these issues. After conducting unannounced visits to classroom, researchers found that 40% of teachers had been reported missing in the town of Sertão de São Francisco. Moreover, even when teachers are in classroom, they often talk among themselves and waste teaching time. 74% of log books, which track teacher attendance, were not filled out in Pernanbuco schools. Teacher absenteeism remains a challenge for reform. Evidence also suggest that pedagogies used in Brazil often do not bolster cognitive skills. Students need both individual support and hands-on activities to maximize growth in cognitive skills, but inefficient methods undercut the quality of education. Although schools in Pernanbuco were relatively small (25 students on average), they did not received individualized attention. Moreover, hands-on activities and discussion with other students, which promotes better absortion of the material, were only used in 5% of class time. In Pernanbuco also teachers used 28% of classroom time to organize and students often become distracted in this unstructured time. These problems undermine the positive effects of education. Even with greater government spending on education, inefficient use of funds and time in the classroom will not result in achievement gains. Quality education can dimish gender inequalities as well as break the cycle of poverty in poorer regions of Brazil, but as detailed in Abadzi (2007), these regions also suffer from a variety of inadequacies: _ Teachers usually emphasize copying because it provides an easy way to command a classroom, these passive methods fail to engage students and encourage retention of the material. _ Teachers in impoverish regions are often undereducated themselves, and even avoid teaching material they have less command with. As discussed earlier, a major problem in education is teacher absenteeism, and several policy tools can mitigate this problem. For instance, clearer guidelines and positive reinforcement for punctuality would encourage teachers to make more efficient use of time. Moreover, salary increases may incentivize teachers to act more responsibly. Education can generate growth over the long term. These benefits are dependent on quality education, which is evidently not accessed equally by all Brazilians students. Across the country, there are several failures within the education system. According to studies conducted by the World Bank, many schools waste too many valuable resources and time in the classroom. Clearly, the need for reform is urgent. The success of cash transfer models like Bolsa Escola-Familia programs offers some optimism. This program not only reduces dropout rates but also advances a social agenda that aims to alleviate the multidimensional causes of poverty. Additionally, principals and administrators need to take more responsibility by providing staff with stricter guidelines regarding absenteeism. In conclusion, if Brazil is to achieve its projected success, policymakers must seriously tackle the inadequate education system. Not only does quality education provide an engine for future economic growth but it also bolster Brazil's human development.
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