Brazil

This document brings together previous international evidence collected by the OECD on the topics of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and the education policy context of Brazil to support policy dialogue in Brazil on the reform of ECEC in 2024. This document looks into the following areas: 1) Why ECEC matters for stronger social and economic outcomes in Brazil, 2) How some OECD education systems are supporting access to and quality of ECEC, and 3) Which policy directions taken by some OECD countries can inform Brazil’s efforts to strengthen access and quality of ECEC?

The review examines how higher education institutions are supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in their surrounding communities. The study focuses on eleven universities located in six countries in Latin America: Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. The study finds that selected institutions are actively supporting entrepreneurs (university students, but also local entrepreneurs) through courses, incubation and acceleration activities. It also shows that universities are actively engaging with external stakeholders in their surrounding communities, to spur innovation through joint-research, organisation of events (such as festivals, competition). It finds that that while COVID-19 pandemic brought about some challenges, universities managed to stay afloat and keep a steady stream of support to entrepreneurs and partners. The review also illustrates the challenges that universities face when developing these activities (lack of funding, unclear regulation for intellectual property development, etc.) and highlights some opportunities that universities should leverage, particularly in the current context.

One of a series of studies on vocational education and training (VET), this report focuses on how international evidence can inform reforms of the VET system in Brazil. The reforms aim to considerably expand provision of initial VET, tripling enrolment between 2014-2024. Today, few upper-secondary students participate in VET in Brazil as compared to many OECD countries. The reform is a welcome initiative, provided that the expansion is coupled with investments in quality. Expansion of VET is likely to diversify the students attending VET programmes and increase the demand for VET teachers, and schools will need the support to make this work while ensuring that the programmes they offer are relevant for the labour market. By international standards, employers in Brazil provide limited input into VET policy and very few VET students have an opportunity of training with employers, and the reforms could be an opportunity to strengthen their involvement. Moreover, the reform could reinforce assessment strategies, as a lack of reliable assessment may decrease the value of VET qualifications. To support reform efforts in Brazil, this report brings in international evidence and discusses how other countries are addressing various related challenges encountered in their VET systems.

Many Latin American countries have experienced improvements in income over recent decades, with several of them now classified as high-income or upper middle-income in terms of conventional metrics. But has this change been mirrored in improvements across the different areas of people’s lives? How’s Life in Latin America? Measuring Well-being for Policy Making addresses this question by presenting comparative evidence for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) with a focus on 11 LAC countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay). Spanning material conditions, quality of life, resources for future well-being, and inequalities, the report presents available evidence on well-being both before and since the onset of the pandemic, based on the OECD Well-being Framework. It also identifies priorities for addressing well-being gaps and describes how well-being frameworks are used in policy within Latin America and elsewhere around the world, providing lessons for governments on what is needed to put people’s well-being at the centre of their action. The report is part of the EU Regional Facility for Development in Transition for Latin America and the Caribbean.

This country policy profile on education in Brazil is part of the Education Policy Outlook series. Building on the first policy profile for Brazil (2015), it offers a concise analysis of where the education system stands today and how this compares to other systems. This profile offers relevant international policy examples that may serve as possible inspiration as policy makers work to address Brazil's key challenges and priorities, including in the post-COVID recovery. It brings together over a decade's worth of policy analysis by the Education Policy Outlook, as well as recent OECD data, relevant thematic and country-specific work and other international and national evidence. The report also benefits from the Education Policy Outlook's ongoing comparative analysis of resilience and responsiveness in education policy. This profile is complemented by its companion report Education Policy Outlook: Brazil - with a focus on national and subnational policies (both also available in Portuguese).

This country policy profile on education in Brazil is part of the Education Policy Outlook series. Building on the first policy profile for Brazil (2015), it offers a concise analysis of where the education system stands today in terms of strengths and challenges, and how this compares to other systems. This profile also analyses the evolution of ongoing and emerging related policy efforts in Brazil, including education responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. It brings together over a decade's worth of policy analysis by the Education Policy Outlook, as well as recent OECD data, relevant thematic and country-specific work and other international and national evidence. The report also benefits from the Education Policy Outlook's ongoing comparative analysis of resilience and responsiveness in education policy. This profile is complemented by its companion report Education Policy Outlook: Brazil - with a focus on international policies (both also available in Portuguese).

In light of recent education reforms, Brazil is currently considering a series of changes to the purpose and design of its Basic Education Assessment System (Sistema de Avaliação da Educação Básica, SAEB), which has been a critical source of information about student learning outcomes for the past 30 years. To inform these discussions, the OECD was invited to review a set of policy proposals for reforming the current SAEB so that it more closely aligns with Brazil’s new learning standards and provides data to support a range of education actors - from the classroom to the ministry – in their efforts to raise educational performance and reduce inequalities. The findings from this OECD Review are set out in the below policy perspective.

The Education in Brazil: An International Perspective report was developed drawing on internationally comparative data on education in Brazil, in particular the extensive range of data collected by the OECD through its surveys. The experiences of other countries and how they have tackled challenges similar to those now faced by Brazil, along with the insights from consultations with key national experts, also inform the analysis. The report benchmarks with OECD and a set of comparator emerging economies the whole education system from early childhood education and care to tertiary education, focusing on: Access and participation Learning and labour market outcomes The allocation, use and efficiency of financial, human and material resources School leaders, teachers and teaching The school climate and student well-being The report highlights the many strengths of Brazil’s education system, identifies the main challenges ahead and offers policy implications for the future.