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The 1988 Brazilian Constitution states that "education" is, "a right for all, a duty of the State and of the family, and is to be promoted with the collaboration of society, with the objective of fully developing the person, preparing the individual for the exercise of citizenship and qualifying him/her for work." The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Education, defines the guiding principals for the organization of educational programs, but does not establish such programs. Local governments are responsible for establishing local educational programs following the guidelines and using the funding supplied by the Federal Government. The National Educational Bases and Guidelines Law enacted in 1961 says that, "national education, inspired in the principles of freedom and in the ideals of human solidarity, has the purpose of:
HISTORY Until the 20th Century , Brazil was a largely underdeveloped nation, with economic activity based on the Primary Sector , and possessing an unskilled Workforce . With The Massive Post-war Expansion that lasts to date, the government focused on strengthening Brazil's Tertiary Education , while simultaneously neglecting assistance to primary and secondary education. {Link without Title} Today, Brazil struggles to improve the public education offered at earlier stages and maintain the high standards that the population has come to expect from public universities. The choice on Public Funding is an issue. In particular, the U.N. Development Goal of Universal Primary Education and a larger offer of Education For Students With Special Needs are pursued by Brazilian policy-makers. Plano Nacional de Educação Especial - Ministry of Education Despite its shortcomings, Brazil has progressed substantially in the last two decades. The nation witnessed an increase in school enrollment for children aged 7-14, from 80.9% in 1980 to 96.4% in the year 2000. In the 15-17 age demographics, in the same time period, this rate rose from 49.7% to 83%. Edudata Brasil Literacy rates went up, from 75% to 86.4%. COELHO DE SOUZA, Marcos Medeiros. ''O Analfabetismo no Brasil sob o Enfoque Demográfico''. Ipea. Brasília, 1999 IBGE SITUATION As a large middle-income country, Brazil still has several underdeveloped regions. Its educational system is accordingly plagued by many defficiencies and racial and regional disparities. Universidade de Brasília - Assessoria de Comunicação IBGE Política Educacional - O Desafio da Qualidade BRNOrdeste - ''Campanha propõe investimento de mais R$ 24 bi por ano em educação'' As of 2002:
:8.4 years for white people, 6.1 years for black people :5.1 years in the Northeast ''versus'' 7.2 years in the Southeast and 6.9 years in the South . As of 2006:
ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE Education is divided into three levels, with several grades in each division. Fundamental education (the first educational level) is free for everyone (including adults), and mandatory for children between the ages of 6-14. Secondary education is also free, but it is not mandatory. Higher education (including graduate degrees) is free at public universities. Pre-school (Pré-Escola) Pre-school is entirely optional, and exists to aid in the development of children under 7. It aims to assist in all areas of Child Development , including Motor Skills , Cognitive Skills , and Social Skills while providing fertile ground for the later acquisition of knowledge and learning. There are day nurseries for children under 2, kindergartens for 2-3 year olds, and preschools for children 4 and up. Fundamental Education (Ensino Fundamental) Fundamental Education is mandatory for children ages 6-14. There are 9 "years" (as opposed to the former 8 "grades"). Folha OnLine The current "First Year" broadly corresponds to the former Pre-School last year of private institutions, and its aim is to achieve literacy. Generally speaking, the only prerequisite for enrolling in first year is that a child should be 6 years old, but some educational systems allow children younger than 6 to enroll in first year (as long as they turn 6 during the first academic semester). Older students who, for whatever reason have not completed their fundamental education are allowed to attend, though those over 18 are separated from the younger children. The Federal Council of Education (''Conselho Federal de Educação'') sets a core curriculum consisting of Portuguese , History , Geography , Science , Mathematics , Arts and Physical Education (for years 2, 3, 4 and 5). As for years 6, 7, 8 and 9, a foreign language is also compulsory (usually English and sometimes Spanish ). Each educational system supplements this core curriculum with a diversified curriculum defined by the needs of the region and the abilities of individual students. Fundamental Education is divided in two stages, called ''Ensino Fundamental I'' (years 1-5) and ''Ensino Fundamental II'' (years 6-9). During ''Ensino Fundamental I'' each group of students is usually assisted by a single teacher. As for ''Ensino Fundamental II'', there are as many teachers as subjects. The length of the school year is set at at least 200 days by the National Education Bases and Guidelines Law (''Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação''). Fundamental schools must provide students with at least 800 hours of activities per year. The actual school calendar is set by individual schools which, in rural areas, often organize their calendar by sowing and harvesting seasons. Secondary Education (Ensino Médio) Secondary Education takes 3 years. The minimum is 2,200 hours of coursework over 3 years. Students must have finished their Fundamental education before they are allowed to enroll in High School. Secondary education core curriculum comprises Portuguese (including Portuguese language, and Brazilian and Portuguese literatures), a foreign language (usually English and sometimes Spanish), History, Geography, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Recently Philosophy and Sociology, which were banned during the military dictatorship (1964-1985), became compulsory again. It is possible to take professional training along with mainstream Secondary education. Such trainings usually last 2 years and can be taken during the 2nd and 3rd years of Secondary education. Some Secondary schools provide professional training in Agriculture. Such schools usually have a greater amount of instruction hours per week and the complete course lasts 3 or 4 years. Higher Education (Ensino Superior) Secondary education is mandatory for those wishing to pursue Higher Education . In addition, students must pass a competitive entrance examination (known as '' Vestibular '') for their specific course of study. The number of candidates per available place in the Freshman class may be in excess of 30 or 40 to one in the most competitive courses at the top public universities. Higher education in Brazil, as in many nations, can be divided into both Undergraduate and Graduate work. In addition to providing education, Universities promote Research and provide stand-alone classes to the community. The standard Brazilian undergraduate Bachelor's Degree (''graduação'') is awarded in most fields of Arts , Humanities , Social Sciences , Mathematical Science s, or Natural Sciences , and normally requires 4 years of post-secondary studies at a certified university. Students interested in Teaching careers at secondary schools can take an additional year in Lecturing courses (''licenciatura''). Five-year degrees are awarded in the so-called professional careers such as Architecture , Engineering , Veterinary Medicine , and Law . The Undergraduate Degree in Medicine requires in turn six years of Full-time post-secondary studies. ''Residência'', a two-to-five years internship in a Teaching Hospital is not required, but it is pursued by many professionals, especially those who wish to Specialize in a given area. Students who hold a four-year bachelor's degree or a five-year professional diploma are qualified for admission into Graduate School (''pós-graduação''). Graduate Master's Degrees are normally awarded following the completion of a two-year program requiring satisfactory performance in a minimum number of advanced graduate courses (typically between five and eight classes), plus the submission by the degree candidate of a Master's Thesis (''dissertação de mestrado'') that is examined by an oral panel of at least three Faculty members, including at least one External Examiner . Doctoral Degree s on the other hand normally require four years of full-time studies during which the degree candidate is required to complete further advanced graduate Coursework , pass a doctoral qualifying Exam , and submit an extensive Doctoral Dissertation (''tese de doutorado'') that must represent an original and relevant contribution to current knowledge in the field of study to which the dissertation topic belongs. The doctoral dissertation is examined in a final public oral exam administered by a panel of at least five faculty members, two of whom must be external examiners. Results from the dissertation are normally expected to be published in Peer-reviewed Journal s, proceedings of International Conference s, and/or in the form of Book s/book Chapter s. TEACHER TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION Teacher training is available at both secondary schools and universities, depending on what grades one desires to teach. A 3-year course in a secondary school will qualify prospective teachers to teach the first 4 grades of elementary school. A 3-4 year secondary school degree plus an additional year of training qualifies one to teach grades 5 and 6. A university degree is required however to qualify an individual to teach High School classes (i.e. grades 10-12 in the new 12-year school system). There are frequent programs for teachers to update their skills. REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS |
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