Brazil/U.S. Curriculum Translation

*Should have consistent schooling with minimal gaps in education

Education System

School Year: February-December | Compulsory Education: Age 17 | Graduation: 12th Grade

Brazil/U.S. Grading Scale

Transition Supports

Education Practice:

Education practice in Brazil is highly regional. Though curriculum and minimum instruction time is set nationally by the Ministry of Education, individual states have the ability to adjust what is taught to cater to local needs and desires. As a result of this organizational framework, disparities exist between urban and rural areas in terms of length of the school year, participation rates in upper secondary school, and concentration of subjects in core areas. Though reforms are in progress, Brazil still has high dropout rates in upper secondary due to financial issues, transportation issues, teen pregnancy, and lack of desire to continue in education, especially in rural areas. 

Though it varies, the school year for most states runs from February to December. Some states opt for shorter school days, compensating with Saturday classes, while others run a Monday-Friday schedule. As part of the 2014 reforms, the minimum number of hours of instruction in each year has been increased gradually from 800 to 1,400 hours beginning in 2022. Compulsory education limits also increased onder the reforms, from age 14 to 17, though the regional disparities mentioned above continue to correlate with higher dropout rates.

Classroom management in Brazil is poor, with large class sizes and frequent disruptions leading to significant loss of instructional time and reduced student engagement  (Moriconi & Belanger, 2015). These disruptions as a result of poor management are considered a root cause of student lack of motivation and high drop-out rates. Around 40% of dropouts state that disinterest was their primary reason for leaving (Damasceno et. al., 2019)

While it is improving under reforms, the quality of education in Brazil has historically been low, and Brazil consistently underperforms in core subject areas, though some improvement is being made in Math (PISA, 2015). Students are now tested at the beginning of the school year, and those testing below grade level receive an additional two weeks of intensive tutoring. Despite this, lower income students may take up to an additional three years to complete elementary school.

U.S. Educator Implications:

The reforms that increased the minimum education hours from 800 to 1,400 were phased in, with  the final phase in 2022. Older students, therefore, are more likely to have attended school only for half of the day, and the stamina for a full day of learning may be diminished. 

Extreme poverty in rural areas of Brazil often lead to higher dropout rates due to financial and transportation issues. Families may need connections to social services in order to facilitate completing their education.

Because students are held back at a high rate in Brazil, students transferring in may be older than their grade-level peers. Schools may need to make determinations regarding placement due to age, and alternative methods for graduation may need to be presented to students older than 21. 

As the level of instruction in Brazil may be lower than that in the U.S., students may obtain credit but still have significant learning gaps compared to their same-age peers. Supplemental work and additional support such as tutorials and enrichment activities may be needed to set students up for continued success in the U.S. education system.

Strategies for Transition

• Get to know your students by building positive relationships.
• Provide multicultural education where texts, values, beliefs, and perspectives represent people from different cultural backgrounds.
• Allow a reasonable amount of transition time.
• Connect families to social services for transportation, food, and financial supports if needed. 
• Punctuality is not emphasized in Brazil and being 15-20 minutes late is considered normal. Additional emphasis may need to be placed on district attendance and tardy policies in order to avoid forfeiting credit.
• Provide additional educational support to students who may be performing under grade level, such as enrichment/supplemental activities and tutorials. 
• Asking peers for help in Brazil is common, even on exams. Teachers should endeavor to explicitly state the parameters of acceptable peer assistance before any assignment or test. 
• Class sizes in Brazil are often over 40 students, and students may therefore not receive individualized attention and mis-interpret it as a form of punishment. Be sure to show individual attention to multiple students throughout the room so that students do not feel ostracized.
• Classroom management in Brazil is lacking, leading to significant loss of learning time due to disruptions (Moriconi & Belanger, 2015). Going over classroom rules and procedures in advance and being consistent with implementation and enforcement is crucial to ensuring time lost to behavior is minimal. Preferential scheduling into more structured learning environments may need to be considered. 
• Avoid referring to Brazilian students and families as “Hispanic”, as this term is used to identify those who are Spanish-speaking or come from Spanish-speaking countries. The national language of Brazil is Portuguese, not Spanish.
• Sarcasm/mocking are not part of Brazilian culture and may be misunderstood as nefarious. 
• Brazilians refer to foreigners as “Gringos”. This is considered an inoffensive term and more like a nickname. Persons who may be offended by this term may need to compassionately express their concerns. 
• Casual blasphemy is a sign of poor manners in Brazil. Be careful using casual phrases that invoke religious terms.

Resources

Curriculum: http://basenacionalcomum.mec.gov.br/images/BNCC_EI_EF_110518_versaofinal_site.pdf

WENR: https://wenr.wes.org/2019/11/education-in-brazil 

PISA report: http://www.compareyourcountry.org/pisa/country/BRA

Classroom behavior: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312979244_Student_Behaviour_and_Use_of_Class_Time_in_Brazil_Chile_and_Mexico

https://www.scitepress.org/Papers/2019/77291/77291.pdf