Many discussions have taken place around the issue of the special needs of learners, special schools and inclusivity. UNESCO argues that inclusive education will accommodate all children, regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic or other conditions. This would include disabled and gifted children, street and…

The Gender and Sexuality in Mathematics Education Working Group convened in 2018 with a focus on (1) language use, multidimensional understandings of gender and sexuality, and influences of these on methods, results, and interpretations; (2) interactions between gender/sexuality and students' self-perceptions; and (3) the roles of curriculum,…

The study traces the development of Brazilian federal initiatives since 1964 to reform the system of access to higher education, examines the effect of those policies, and asseses the utility of Braybrooke and Linblom's "strategy of disjointed incrementalism" for analyzing public policy formation in this setting. The results reveal that:…

This paper attempts to clarify some of the principal obstacles Brazil will have to overcome in order for its educational system to reach the levels of efficiency, equity, and quality demanded by society. It presents a brief analysis of the Brazilian educational system, highlighting the major changes that have taken place over the last 10 years and…

Investigations into the Brazilian education system indicate the system's inadequacies in democratizing education. Instead, education is accessible to those who can afford it and not to those who most need it. Although research evidence consistently shows the positive relationship between socioeconomic characteristics and school access and…

Brazil has one of the most inequitable income distributions in the world, and schools perpetuate the processes of social exclusion. This paper examines processes of social exclusion in the municipal elementary schools of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Interviews with municipal superintendents focused on the schools' welfare services,…

The impact of educational reforms in Brazil has been assessed by the Brazilian Evaluation System of Basic Education (SAEB), a tool designed to measure the cognitive achievement of students. The SAEB comprises tests of Portuguese grammar and writing, mathematics, and science. Schools have used the SAEB mainly for comparisons among groups of…

This study reports on innovative alternative approaches to children's education in 12 developing countries. These approaches are examined with reference to their flexibility regarding time and place of learning, age of pupils, relationship with formal education systems, relevance and functionality for the actual situation of learners, and ability…

Brazil's education of its emerging middle class is compared in this paper with the U.S. community colleges' education of their middle and lower class constituency. First, introductory comments argue that, just as there are stratified technological levels within the labor market, levels of knowledge can also be distinguished, pointing to access to…

This study examined a Preparatory Course for Blacks and the Economically Disadvantaged (PBED) in a poor area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The PBED is an alternative educational project that offers regular classes on evenings and weekends using volunteer labor, donated space, and contributions from students who can afford it. Case studies were used…