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INNOVATIVE
TEACHING

http://www.amsci.com

INNOVATIVE
TEACHING

Brazilian educational system and advances in

vocational teaching with the advent of Federal
Institutes of Education, Science and Technology1

2015, Volume 4, Article 4

ISSN 2165-2236

Alexandre Fonseca DAndrea, Arilde Franco Alves, Joabson Nogueira de Carvalho

and Maria Vernica Andrade da Silveira Edmundson

DOI 10.2466/10.IT.4.4
A. F. DAndrea 2015
Attribution-NonCommercialNoDerivs CC-BY-NC-ND

Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Paraba, Brazil

Charles I. Abramson
Department of Psychology and School of International Studies, Oklahoma State
University
Received March 3, 2015
Accepted June 11, 2015
Published July 10, 2015

CITATION
DAndrea, A. F., Alves, A. F., de
Carvalho, J. N., Edmundson,
M. V. A. da S., & Abramson,
C. I. (2014) Brazilian educational system and advances in
vocational teaching with the
advent of Federal Institutes
of Education, Science and
Technology. Innovative
Teaching, 4, 4.

Ammons Scientific

www.AmmonsScientific.com

Abstract
This paper is a description of the current situation of Vocational Education in
Brazil, to indicate directions and perspectives for teaching practice and research,
under the Federal Network of Vocational, Scientific and Technological Education of Brazil. Issues discussed include the history of university education in
Brazil, how students are selected for university training, the role of government
regulation in encouraging university education, and problems with the educational system. Of special interest are programs related to international cooperation such as the Thousand Women Program and Science Without Borders.

In the last decade, Brazil has experienced a wave of growth in social services, economics, and infrastructure. One of the fastest growing fields, yet often unknown outside of
Brazil, is in the area of education. National programs such as Science Without Borders
(SWB) have facilitated collaborations between Brazilian universities and those in the
United States, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
The purpose of this article is to acquaint the reader with the history of the Brazilian educational system, especially as it relates to the Federal Institutes and vocational training. We
hope that such knowledge will facilitate meaningful exchanges between Brazilian universities and those outside of Brazil. It has been our experience that eorts at collaboration can
be facilitated if our foreign partners know more about our educational system and its history. For example, as a necessary first step in seeking collaborations in psychology, studies
were designed that revealed Brazilian students diered greatly in their beliefs about psychology as a science. Those in the northeast of Brazil generally did not consider psychology
as a science, while students in the south of Brazil did consider it a science. This dierence
between the two regions of Brazil is linked with the ability of students to do research; the
more research a student does, the greater the belief that psychology is a science (Bartoszeck,
Abramson, & Place, 2005; Morales, Abramson, Nain, Junior, & Bartoszeck, 2005). Foreign
professors trying to improve psychology training in Brazil have been hampered by a lack of
understanding of the educational system (Abramson & Bartoszeck, 2006).
This article seeks to provide foreign professors some context of our educational system by providing in English material that is currently only available in Portuguese and
dicult to locate. We believe that such a context will allow foreign professors and students to better interact with Brazilian colleagues in such areas as writing cooperative
proposals, e.g., to the National Science Foundation (Page, Abramson, & Jacobs-Lawson,
2004). We provide the reader with an informative picture of the current situation of Vocational Education in Brazil, indicating directions and perspectives for teaching and investigative activities within the Federal Network of Vocational, Scientific and Technological Education of Brazil VSTE Federal Network. This paper is divided into four sections.
The first is a brief historical overview of Brazilian vocational education. This is necessary because the Brazilian university system has an important vocational component,
Address correspondence to Alexandre Fonseca DAndrea, IFPB Joo Pessoa campus, Unidade Acadmica
I, Av. 1 de Maio, 720, Jaguaribe, Joo Pessoa, PB. CEP 58015-430 or e-mail (alexandre.dandrea@ifpb.edu.br).
1

Brazilian Education System / A. F. DAndrea, et al.

Schools of Apprentice Craftsmen were created. These

schools were designed to provide free vocational education (Decree No. 7566 of September 23, 1909 Brazil,
1909). In 1927, Congress enacted the Fidlis Reis Project which provided the mandatory oering of vocational education in Brazil. With the creation of the Ministry
of Education and Public Health in 1930, the Province of
Professional Technical Education was structured to supervise the various Schools of Apprentices Craftsmen,
which were attached to the Ministry of Agriculture. It
was a period of great expansion of industrial training,
driven by a policy of creating new industrial schools and
introduction of new specializations in existing schools.
The Brazilian Constitution of 1937 (Brazil, 1937a) was
the first to deal specifically with technical, vocational, and
industrial education, establishing in Article 129:

unlike many American and European universities. Moreover, vocational training is one area where Brazilian and
non-Brazilian universities can develop new training programs. Second, we discuss the new legal system recently
put in place to monitor and evaluate our educational system. Next, we provide an analysis of the Brazilian educational system. We close with a discussion of the future of
our educational system.

History of Vocational Education in Brazil

Vocational Education in Brazil is marked by several relevant themes. The main themes are presented below. The
material in this section is based upon a Portuguese language document entitled Vocational Education History
in Brazil published by the Ministry of Education of
Brazil and available on the website http://portal.mec.
gov.br/Setec/files/centennial/historico_educacao_pro
fissional.pdf.

The pre-vocational and vocational education for the

lower classes is, in education, the first duty of the state.
It must comply with that duty, founding vocational
education institutes and subsidizing the initiative of
states, municipalities and individuals or private and
professional associations. It is the duty of industries
and economic unions to create within the sphere of
their specialty schools for the children of their workers
or their associates. The law shall regulate the fulfillment of this duty and powers that will fit to the State
on these schools, as well as aid, facilities and subsidies
for them to be granted by the government.

Schools of Apprentices Craftsmen

Historically, the first systematic initiatives of vocational
education in Brazil occurred in the late 17th century, with
the advent of the Gold Cycle in the State of Minas Gerais,
and with the creation of learning centers devoted to crafts
attached to the arsenals of the Brazilian navy. In the early 18th century, with the arrival of the Portuguese Royal
Family in Brazil, the College of Factories was created by
King Joo VI. Historical records indicate that the training of workers in Brazil began at the time of Portuguese
colonization. In 1800, with the aim of supporting the less
privileged sections of Brazilian society, the apprentice
model was used to train children and young people in
such areas as typography, binding, tailoring, carpentry,
and shoemaking. In the early twentieth century, Mr. Nilo
Peanha, President of the State of Rio de Janeiro, formally established technical education in Brazil on September
11, 1906 by means of Decree No. 787. This decree created
four vocational schools: Campos, Petrpolis, Niteri, and
Paraba do Sul. The first three schools were established to
teach crafts and the last to teach agriculture.
The year 1906 also marked the consolidation of industrial-technical education in Brazil in at least three ways: (1)
the proposed Congress of Instruction. This presented
to Congress a project to promote practical training in industry, agriculture, and commerce. The project was to be
maintained with the joint support of the Federal Government and the States. (2) The Finance Committee of the Federal Government increased the budget allocation for States
to establish technical and vocational schools. (3) Brazilian
President Afonso Pena claimed that the creation and multiplication of technical and vocational education institutes
can also contribute much to the progress of industries, providing them with teachers and educated and skilled workers (inaugural speech of November 15, 1906).
From 1909 onward, under the jurisdiction of the
Ministry of Agricultural Aairs, Industry and Trade, 19
Innovative Teaching

The Schools of Apprentices Craftsmen were then

transformed into high schools through Law 378, signed
on January 13, 1937 (Brazil, 1937b). In 1941, a set of laws
called the Reforma Capanema remodeled the entire
education system in Brazil. Its main points were: (1) vocational education was associated with high school education; (2) entrance examinations were required for
admission to the industrial schools; (3) courses were divided into two levels: basic industrial courses, and additional course work with either a three-year or oneyear supervised internship in industry.
On February 25, 1942, Law-Decree No. 4127 (Brazil,
1942) permitted the Schools of Apprentices and Craftsmen (Industrial and Technical Schools), to serve as a gateway into colleges and universities. Students now trained
in technical courses were allowed to receive higher education. This decree had the immediate eect of incorporating vocational training into colleges and universities
as part of an overall government strategy of education.

Federal Technical and Agro Technical Schools

The government of Juscelino Kubitschek, (19561961)
brought important changes to the country. In this period, auto manufacturing was the great icon of national industry. The Target Plan of the Government whose
slogan was 50 years in 5 predicted massive investments in infrastructure (73% of total investments were

2015, Volume 4, Article 4

Brazilian Education System / A. F. DAndrea, et al.

Fig. 1. Locations of the Centros Federais de Educao Tecnolgica (CEFET, Federal Centers of Technological Education), created from Technical Schools in Brazil in 2009. Source: http://redefederal.mec.gov.br.

for the production of energy and transportation). The

education sector was allocated 3.4% of the total national investment, in order to train professionals to support
the country's development goals. In 1959, an important
step was taken towards didactic autonomy and management of technical education. The local industrial
and technical schools were taken over by the federal
government and became known as Federal Technical
Schools. The training of technicians was considered by
the government as a necessary step in the acceleration
of the industrialization process.
The increase in enrollment in technical education,
the emergence of new courses, and the increase in the
number of Federal Technical Schools was stimulated
by the passage of the Law of Guidelines and Bases of
Brazilian Education LDB, No. 5692, August 11, 1971
(Brazil, 1971), which made compulsory the oering of
technical courses as part of the high school curriculum.

1994, with Law No. 8948 (Brazil, 1994). From this legal
framework, some Federal Technical and Agro Technical Schools were transformed into CEFETs by specific decree for each institution and, according to criteria
established by the Ministry of Education, were given
autonomy to oer new undergraduate courses.
The Law of Guidelines and Bases of Brazilian Education was enacted on November 20, 1996 (Law 9394),
with a chapter on Professional Education (Brazil, 1996).
Law 9394/96 also defined the professional certification
system that allowed the recognition of skills acquired
by people outside the school system. In 1997, it created the Professional Education Expansion Program PROEP, with Decree 2208/1997, which regulates vocational education in the country, making vocational and
technical education independent of high school. In this
sense, the technical courses could now be oered concurrently or sequentially in high school.
For many, this separation meant a step back in vocational education, since the integration of high school
and technical education activities provided a comprehensive education from the point of view of the development of skills and competencies while at the same
time providing the student with basic science training
in high school. In this context, the process of transformation of Technical and Agro Technical Schools in CEFETs started in 1978 was resumed.
In 2004, technical education was again changed,
permitting integration of technical education and high

Federal Centers of Technological Education

The creation of university centers in technical education
began in 1978, with Law No. 6545 (Brazil, 1978). The
three Federal Technical Schools (located in the states of
Paran, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) were transformed into Federal Centers of Technological Education CEFETs. Figure 1 provides a map of where these
Centers were located in Brazil. These centers focused on
the training of engineers and technicians. The National
System of Technological Education was established in
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2015, Volume 4, Article 4

Brazilian Education System / A. F. DAndrea, et al.

technological education as solutions to meet social demands according to regional peculiarities; (3) forming
themselves into centers of excellence in science education in general and applied sciences, in particular, while
encouraging the development of critical thinking and
empirical research; (4) qualifying as reference centers to
support science education in public schools and to provide training for public school teachers; (5) developing
outreach programs and promoting science and technology; (6) conducting and encouraging applied research,
cultural production, entrepreneurship, cooperatives, and
scientific and technological development; and (7) promoting the production, development, and the transfer of
social technologies, notably those aimed at preserving
the environment (Brazil, 2008a).

school (Decree 5154/2004). Faced with the pressure of

establishing benchmarks for the performance of the
Federal Centers of Technological Education, Decree No.
5224 was signed, providing for evaluations of teaching and practice, applied research, and the integration
of educational activities with society's expectations. In
2005, with the publication of Law 11,195, the first phase
of the expansion plan of the Federal Technological Education Network began with the construction of 64 new
technical units. Also, in 2005 there was the transformation of CEFET - Paran into the Federal Technological
University of Paran, the first university specializing in
technological education in Brazil.

The Advent of the Federal Institutes of Education,

Science and Technology

Brazilian Higher Education

In 2007, several technical schools were already seeking the status of CEFETs or Technological Universities.
Faced with heterogeneity of the Federal Network, which
made it dicult to eectively manage vocational education in Brazil, a new structure was proposed. This new
structure led to the creation of Federal Institutes that
would integrate vocational education into university
level training. Thus, given the desire of various educational units to be transformed into CEFET institutions, a
Public Call MEC/SETEC No. 2/2007 (Brazil, 2007) was
launched to receive proposals. These proposals led to the
creation of the Federal Education, Science and Technology institutes known as IFET initially, and subsequently shortened to IF (Federal Institutes). The Public Call
No. 2/2007 originally forecast a maximum of 37 Federal
Institutes in Brazil. After adjustments to the proposed
names and the inclusion of another federal institute for
the State of Minas Gerais (the Federal Institute of South
of Minas Gerais, due to its regional peculiarities), made
public by Ordinance No. 116 of March 31, 2008 (Brazil,
2008a), Law No. 11,892 was published on December 29,
2008, creating the Federal Institutes of Education, Science and Technology (IF) (Brazil, 2008b).
The 38 IFs, with at least one located in each Brazilian
State, are characterized as institutions of higher education
that oer basic and professional courses in vocational and
professional training. Unlike many institutions of higher
education in the United States and Europe, IFs build campuses where the students are (rather than a central main
campus), often with limited or no dormitory space. With
the creation of IFs, the Federal Network of Vocational, Scientific and Technological Education takes on a new social
role that henceforth makes it truly a vector of the education for coexistence, precept that guides inclusive education and subsidizes the didactic and pedagogical procedure that meets this target audience (MEC, 2010a).
In short, the purposes of IFs comprise: (1) oering
vocational and technological education with an emphasis on socioeconomic development at local, regional and national levels; (2) developing vocational and
Innovative Teaching

The Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988 (Article 5)

provides that educationa right of all and duty of the
State and the familywill be promoted and encouraged, with the cooperation of society, seeking the full
development of the people, their preparation for the
exercise of citizenship, and their qualification for work.
Article 206, items I to VII of the Carta Magna determines that the university will be based on the principles of equal conditions for access and permanence in
school, with coexisting public and private institutions,
ensuring the gratuity and democratic management of
public education. Importantly, Article 211, 14 of the
Constitution states that education systems in Brazil
are organized in collaboration between the Union, the
States, and the Federal District.
Andrade (2012) has documented the changes in the
Brazilian educational system since the 1990s. These
changes include universal primary education, the growth
of high schools and universities, and an increase in enrollment, which has almost tripled. However, as she mentioned, the strong growth in higher education still reaches only about 19% of those aged 1824 yr.2, according to
the National Household Sample Survey of the Brazilian
Institute of Geography and Statistics and INEP (2013).
Comparing the Brazilian situation with that of other developed countries, access to higher education in 1997 had
already reached 45% of young people 1821 yr. in the
United States and 69% in South Korea.3

Entering Brazilian Universities

For those interested in studying in Brazilian institutions
of higher education, there are several ways to enroll.
Taking a test known as the Vestibular is the most traditional way and tests knowledge in courses taken in high
The author took as reference the age group 18-24 years to be on the
population considered an adequate demand for higher education and
be the indicator used by international agencies.
3
Digest of Education Statistics 2010, Tab 406 (NCES, 2010). Retrieved
November 21, 2014, from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d10/
tables/dt10_406.asp.
2

2015, Volume 4, Article 4

Brazilian Education System / A. F. DAndrea, et al.

Brazil maintains educational or cultural agreements to

pursue university studies in Brazil. The PEC-G is administered in partnership between member universities, the Ministry of Foreign Aairs (through the Educational Cooperation Division of the Department of
Scientific and Technical Cooperation), and the Ministry of Education (MEC) through its Division of International Aairs of Higher Education. There are also provisions made for special access (known as the student
courtesy mode) for foreign students who are international civil servants, their dependents, or diplomatic or
consular ocials (Decree 89,785 of 06/06/84 and Ordinance 121 of 02/10/84).

school. The Vestibular is similar to the SAT or ACT test.

A competing test to the Vestibular is the High School
National Examination (ENEM). This test also covers material from high school and contains both objective questions and an essay. This test has become popular in recent
years. The Serial Evaluation is another form of test. In
this case, the student is tested after each year in high
school. Some colleges and universities also include as
part of the selection process interviews, the level of education, courses, transcripts, or experience and professional performance.

SiSU, ENEM, and Vestibular

The Unified Selection System (SiSU), created and managed by the Ministry of Education since 2010, is a
selective process for entry of new students in public
institutions of higher education. The SiSU uses the High
School National Examination as selection criteria. Thus,
colleges and universities can administer the unified test
and then, based on the scores, give candidates a choice
of where to study. Because of this tool, students can compete for seats in SiSU member institutions; unlike the
older Vestibular, the student first takes the test and then
chooses where to attend.
The ENEM (High School National Examination) emerged in 1998 to measure the performance of high school
students. In 2009, the test was modified to have 180 questions and a writing component presented over two consecutive days. The ENEM is also used in the first stage
of the traditional college entrance examination (as part
of the final grade) and to select candidates if the educational institution has vacancies remaining after its selection process. In turn, the traditional Vestibular takes into
account the candidate's classification after the test and is
specific to each educational institution. The Vestibular
varies between institutions. In some cases, a candidate
can be tested for up to four days. Among the tests, the
candidate must show evidence of writing ability. The
higher the score on these standardized tests, the greater
the probability of being selected to a particular university or educational institution.
In addition, there are some special arrangements for
access to higher education, provided by law. Under special circumstances, such as military and civil service, students can transfer to other institutions (defined by Law
No. 9536 of 11/12/97 regulating part 49 of Law No.
9394/96, by Ministerial Decree No. 975/92 and Resolution No. 12/94 of the Federal Council of Education). The
ability of students to transfer is independent of any existing university vacancy and can occur at any time during
their university studies. Another special arrangement
is through the Graduate Student Agreement Program
(PEC-G), which is a priority cooperation activity with developing countries in the form of human resources.
The PEC-G program is a form of access to higher
education that enables citizens of countries with which
Innovative Teaching

Levels and Modalities of Higher Education

Higher education in Brazil is oered by universities,
colleges, technology education centers, and institutes.
Students can choose from three types of degrees: bachelor, professors training (licenciatura), and technological
training. Graduate courses are divided into lato sensu
courses (specializations and MBAs) and stricto sensu
courses (masters and doctorates). Figure 2 provides an
outline of the system.

Evaluation of Higher Education in Brazil

In order to increase the quality of Brazilian educational
institutions, the government deploys the Higher Education Evaluation National System (SINAES). It is important to note that this evaluation process is the result of
constant reforms in education occurring worldwide and
is intended to meet the new requirements of a capitalist
system. SINAES was begun by the former government of
President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, under the guidance of Normative Acts isolates that were promulgated
between 1995 and 2001.4 The evaluation system attempts
to ensure educational quality by regulatory control and
properly distributed public resources (SINAES, 2004).

National Catalogue of Higher Technology Courses

Because of the expansion of technological courses (CST),
Brazil had a very large number of dierent names for
technological degrees. The large number of courses
made it particularly dicult to evaluate quality across
educational institutions in Brazil. Another point that
Among the main normative acts, we cite the following. The first one
is the Provisional Measure No. 1159 of October 26, 1995, subsequently
converted into Law No. 9131 of November 24, 1995. This Act amends
the 1961 LDB in two respects: it extinguishes the Federal Council of
Education and creates the National Council of Education. It requires
the periodic evaluation of undergraduate courses as the responsibility of the Ministry of Education (MEC) and also creates the National
Course Examination (Provo). The second is Decree No. 2021 of October 10, 1996, whose purpose is to regulate the assessment procedures.
The third is the MEC Ordinance No. 755 of May 11, 1999, determining
the Secretary of Higher Education the establishment of the accreditation renewal process of graduate students who had obtained concepts
D or E in three consecutive evaluations conducted by the National
Course Exam. The fourth is Decree No. 3860 of July 9, 2001, which
provides for the organization of higher education and an evaluation
of courses and institutions.
4

2015, Volume 4, Article 4

Brazilian Education System / A. F. DAndrea, et al.

Fig. 2. Structure of the Brazilian Educational System. Adapted from OEI (2002) and UNESCO (2010).

hindered the regulation of technological courses was the

multiplicity of concentrations within the same subject
area (e.g., Agriculture or Industry).
The Ministry of Education of Brazil (MEC) took the
initiative to address this problem by conducting targeted
meetings of working groups. As a result MEC produced
an important document to regulate technological courses.
Pursuant to Decree No. 5773/2006, MEC introduced the
National Catalogue of Higher Technology Courses (MEC,
2010b). This is a guide made available to students, educators, institutions, employers, and the general public. The
National Catalogue of CST organizes and directs the provision of technological undergraduate courses, respecting the National Curriculum Guidelines for Vocational
and Technological Training to take into account the importance of production and respecting the environment.
The final document of the National Catalogue of
CST (MEC, 2010b) states, in its introduction, that the
Innovative Teaching

initiative represents a gain for students, parents, teachers, educational institutions, business enterprises, and
society for having at its disposal an instrument that presents a common framework for technological courses. It
brings together essential information needed to evaluate an undergraduate's professional technology profile.
The CST also provides important information for vocational decisions, curriculum matrices, and training strategies, and promotes the exercise of citizenship in monitoring the quality of the courses. The catalog lists names,
minimum hours, and recommended technological infrastructure of 112 courses organized in 13 technological areas, namely: Environment and Health; School Support;
Control and Industrial Processes; Business and Management; Hospitality and Leisure; Information and Communication; Infrastructure; Military; Food Production;
Cultural Design and Production; Industrial Production;
Natural Resources; and Security.

2015, Volume 4, Article 4

Brazilian Education System / A. F. DAndrea, et al.

TABLE 1
Profile of Teachers in the Brazilian Educational System With Undergraduate Degrees in 2010 [Perfil Docente Docentes no sistema
educacional brasileiro com escolaridade superior em 2010]. Adapted from INEP/DTDIE (2010)
Region

Nursery Education

Preschool

Primary Education

Secondary Education

Vocational Education

Brazil

48.48%

51.81%

70.77%

90.97%

87.92%

North Region

34.36%

34.32%

54.68%

92.57%

95.33%

Northeast Region

29.24%

31.06%

51.93%

80.31%

87.79%

Southeast Region

55.59%

64.51%

82.77%

95.68%

87.57%

South Region

47.61%

63.55%

84.07%

93.92%

87.07%

Mid-West Region

57.53%

67.52%

81.91%

91.84%

90.53%

Numbers of Undergraduate Students in Brazil

Currently, Science and Technology policies in Brazil are being developed to promote the so called popularization of science.5 Issues such as the environment
and sustainability are taking center stage in Brazil. The
Brazilian educational infrastructure has made it possible for greater dissemination of scientific results, and
has facilitated the flow of information between universities, research centers, and society. On the other hand,
the science of results has limited the development of
a standard for scientific research in Brazil (Newsletter of
the Brazilian Society of Soil Science, 38, 3, Set-Dec 2013).
The first initiatives to oer graduate courses (Master's and Ph.D.) in federal institutions of technical education are little more than 10 years old and only with
the advent of the Federal Institutes did it become possible to strengthen institutional research and seek approval for new graduate programs. It is expected that
with the increase of scientific and technological research
coupled with the eorts of internationalization by the
Federal Institutes, research in Brazil can be strengthened. We expect that in the coming decades it will be
possible to increase the number of Masters and Doctoral courses in the Federal Institutes.

The Census of Higher Education, published by the

National Institute of Educational Studies and Research
Ansio Teixeira (INEP, 2013) indicates a total of 7,526,681
students enrolled in vocational, undergraduate, and
graduate courses. The document highlights the trend
of increasing enrollment rates in Brazilian institutes
of higher education from 2003 to 2012: the percentage
of people attending higher education increased from
16.6% to 28.70%. In 2012, 15.1% of university students
were considered to be in the standard age range for
undergraduate students. Despite the oering of several free undergraduate courses by federal institutions
of education, the demand for higher education is such
that Brazil is experiencing an increase in the number
of private universities. Private institutions account for
74% of total enrollment. The census also indicates that
the Bachelor's degrees predominate in Brazilian higher education with 67.5% of enrollments, followed by
teacher training courses (undergraduate), with about
18.9%, and technological courses, with 13.7% enrollment (data 2012). Because of the ease generally required
for management and business degrees as opposed to
those associated with natural science degrees, private
schools hold 85.6% of the technological enrollments. In
2013, the three largest courses in Brazil were, in decreasing order of enrollment: Education, Business, and Law
(for female students) and Law, Business, and Civil Engineering (for male students).

Challenges for Brazilian Education

Before we report some data related to higher education in Brazil, it is prudent to clarify some data from
the Brazilian educational reality in broader context. The
IBGE (2010) pointed out that Brazil with a population of
190,755,799 inhabitants has 45,364,276 people of school
age. At the same time the country had a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $3.6 trillion (expressed in U.S. dollars), representing an average yearly income of R$ 668.00
($256.92). In addition, the IBGE report indicated a 1.9%
illiteracy rate in students between the ages of 10 and 14
and an 8.6% rate of illiteracy for those above 15 yr of age.
These data show how far Brazil must go to ensure quality
education. In addition to the low average yearly income
and literacy issues, other data indicate that despite government initiatives the training of many teachers remains
poor (Table 1).

Federal Network of Vocational, Scientific, and

Technological Education Expansion
The Vocational, Scientific and Technological Education (VSTE) Federal Network is experiencing the largest expansion in its history. The Ministry of Education
(MEC) indicates that, from 1909 to 2002, 140 technical
schools were built. In addition, MEC plans on expanding the Federal Vocational Education Network. In some
cases, expansion of vocational training will be accomplished by federalizing technological institutes. MEC
has invested more than US $1.1 billion in the expansion
of education. Currently, there are more than 400,000
teaching jobs across Brazil (Figs. 3 and 4), with 208 new
schools built in the period from 2011 to 2014, totaling

See more at http://www.cnpq.br/web/guest/por-que-popularizar

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and is directly related to market globalization. IES have

created practices, policies, strategies, and actions aimed
at introducing the international dimension to their activities in the framework of cultural relations, training/
education, research, innovation, and extension.
Currently internationalization is a very important
dimension in the list of institutional strategies of the
best universities in the world. Many universities designate an oce of international aairs to facilitate internationalization. In general, Brazilian universities are
only recently seeking international opportunities in research and teaching and there is much work to be done.
A milestone in the internationalization of Brazilian
universities was the creation in 1988 of the Brazilian Association of International Education (FAUBAI). However, the Federal Institutes did not have an association
of their own or a forum to discuss internationalization. Therefore many IF faculty participated in FAUBAI
meetings. However, because Federal Institutes generally have a dierent mission than other Brazilian universities, the VSTE Federal Network decided they needed

CENRIO DA REDE FEDERAL AT 2014

562
schools

550
366 schools

350
250
215 schools

150
50

140 schools
2002

2008

2010

2014

Fig. 3. Numbers of units of the Federal Network of Vocational, Scientific and Technological Education from 20022010
(Scenario of the Federal Network up to 2014). Source: http://
redefederal.mec.gov.br/expansao-da-rede-federal

562 fully operational schools that will generate space for

600,000 students (http://redefederal.mec.gov.br/expansao
-da-rede-federal).

The Internationalization of Federal Institutes

Higher Education Institutions (IES) in Brazil recognize
the need to internationalize education to prepare students for a globalized world. The internationalization of
higher education in Brazil has advanced in recent years

Fig. 4. Vocational, Scientific and Technological Education Federal Network map in 2010. Source: http://redefederal.mec.gov.br/
expansao-da-rede-federal
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2015, Volume 4, Article 4

Brazilian Education System / A. F. DAndrea, et al.

International Relations of the National Council of the

Institutions of VEST Federal Network (CONIF).
One of the impasses to sending Brazilian students
abroad is the issue of appropriate language proficiency
in the host country. Brazilian students must pass proficiency tests in the language required by the host university. However, many students cannot achieve the minimum
required; for these students, the program provides a grant
of up to 6 mo to study the destination country's language
prior to the academic year. This federal program has been
in eect for 3 yr and has a budget of more than US $3 billion dollars. Science Without Boarders has provided an
opportunity for thousands of students to increase their
academic skills. The program is open to students in the
natural sciences and technical fields at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Post-doctoral students and those
seeking a sandwich year are also eligible.
Currently there is a greater demand on the part of Brazilian students to learn a foreign language. The Federal
Government has sought to create free online language
courses for the Science Without Boarders program. With
regard to classroom courses, the government has created conditions for universities to provide foreign language
writing courses and language centers to prepare students
for the program. Many Federal Institutes are trying to create traditional classroom based language centers to prepare students to participate in international exchanges.
Another initiative of the VSTE Federal Network is
the creation of programs to teach foreigners working in
Brazil Portuguese. This initiative belongs to the CONIF
(Conselho Nacional das Instituies da Rede Federal de
Educao Profissional, Cientfica e Tecnolgica National Council of Institutions of Technological, Scientific and
Vocational Education) and the SETEC (Secretaria de Educao Profissional e Tecnolgica do Ministrio da Educao Vocational and Technological Education Secretary
of Education Ministry) and developed by IFSul, IFCE,
and IFRN. This program is a first for the VSTE Network.
The Science Without Boarders Program has agreements and partnerships with various educational and research institutions from dierent regions of the world.
Currently, the countries include: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Holland, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia,
Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United
Kingdom, the United States, and Ukraine. The main destination countries for SWB Fellows are the United States
(22.2%), Portugal (13.0%), France (11.9%), Spain (10.9%),
Canada (9.5%), the United Kingdom (8.6%), Germany
(7.7%), and Australia (3.9%). The program is very popular in Brazil. For example, the home institution of the
Brazilian authors of this paper (The Federal Institute of
Education, Science and Technology of Paraba [IFPB])
has signed 22 agreements with foreign institutes of higher education as of 2014. These agreements had already

to create a separate forum for Federal Institutes to discuss internationalization.

One of the milestones in international actions taken by
the VSTE Federal Network was the creation of the Thousand Women Program.6 The program was started in 2007
as a pilot project and formally transformed into a program
in 2011. The Thousand Women Program was implemented in collaboration with Institutes and Colleges represented by the Association of Canadian Community Colleges
(ACCC) and the Brazilian Federal Institutes, represented
by the secretary of Vocational and Technological Education of the Ministry of Education (MEC, 2008). The Thousand Women Program has as its goals the eradication of
extreme poverty and hunger, promotion of gender equality, empowerment of women, and ensuring environmental sustainability. To promote vocational and technological training, about one thousand disadvantaged women
in the northeast and north of Brazil received access to vocational education. As a result of this program, the educational level in these women rose and some of the economic needs of each community and region were met. In 2009
the project was expanded to other regions of the country,
enabling the social inclusion of women through the provision of vocational training to help their communities and
enter the labor market. When the project was completed,
the results were such that it became public policy and is
now a government program.
However, it was only in 2009 that representatives of
the Federal Institutes met to discuss and debate the internationalization of the VSTE Federal Network. As a result of these discussions, in 2010 the International Forum
of the institutions of the VSTE Federal Network International Aairs (FORINTER) was created. The FORINTER
promotes debate on the internationalization process, in
addition to creating strategies to enable internationalization (http://forinter.conif.org.br/pt/forinter.html). From
the creation of the FORINTER, the Federal Institutes began to designate a person to coordinate the section of international aairs at the institution. However, few institutions had an oce with sta and financial resources
to do this properly. It was in this context that the Science
Without Borders program (SWB) was created in 2011.

The Science Without Borders Program and

Advances in Internationalization
When the SWB program was established in July 26, 2011,
many institutions had to adapt to a new context. The
VSTE Federal Network created a sector within the Federal Institute system responsible for the care of international aairs. The current trend is to have an International
Relations Oce to coordinate international outreach
eorts across the various campuses of a given Federal Institute. With the creation of the SWB program, the
FORINTER became the ocial government organ of the
6

http://mulheresmil.mec.gov.br/cooperacao-brasil-canada

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2015, Volume 4, Article 4

Brazilian Education System / A. F. DAndrea, et al.

with partner institutions in Argentina, Canada, Chile,

United States, Ireland, and Portugal. These agreements
have led to 111 IFPB undergraduate students studying at
foreign universities under the Science Without Borders
Program. Moreover, faculty have also been sent to foreign
universities as part of exchange agreements. However,
much more can be done. In this context of cooperation,
the Ministry of Education (Notice SETEC/MEC No.
02/2012) approved a project that allowed the technological upgrading of 10 teachers and two IFPB students in
Portugal in the areas of Agroecology and Environment
Sciences in November and December 2012. Through the
CITAB-IFPB institutional memorandum of understanding signed in December 2012, IFPB acts as an international partner in the doctoral program Ph.D. Agrichains.8

led to 101 students studying in foreign universities. Before the SWB program, the IFPB had approximately 10
students who participated in exchange programs primarily through the Fulbright program. As a result of the SWB
program, the Federal Institutes have greatly increased the
number of institutional agreements.

Perspectives to Higher Education in Brazil

Recent debates about higher education in Brazil have
focused on two central questions: What is the meaning of a university and what is the social relevance of
the university to the challenges facing Brazilian society
in the early twenty-first century? According to Speller, Robl, and Meneghel (2012), recent events such as
the National Forum on Higher Education (FNES), the
National Conference on Education (CONAE, 2010), and
the workshop Challenges and Prospects of the Brazilian
Higher Education the Next Decade, promoted by the
Board of Higher Education of the National Education
Council (CES/CNE) in December 2010, brought together experts who have dedicated themselves to addressing these issues. These events have led to reflections
on the main demands and challenges of higher education policy for the next decade, especially in light of
the development of a new National Education Plan, the
PNE 2011-2020 (MEC, 2011).
The most recent Higher Education Analysis of Indicators in Brazil, which is based on data from the last decade, as well as preparatory documents of the PNE 20112020, illustrates the complexity and challenges faced by
universities and institutes in Brazil. Among the main challenges are: (1) democratization of student access to higher education; (2) encouraging student success; (3) expansion of universities and institutes; (4) reducing regional
inequalities; (5) increasing the quality of training and
coursework; (6) social inclusion; (7) professional qualification of teachers; (8) financing university education; (9)
social relevance of programs; and (10) encouragement of
scientific and technological research. The PNE 20112020
attempts to address at least some of these challenges. For
example, it identifies a need for increased enrollment of
adults aged 18 to 24 yr., to ensure a supply of students for
the university system. There is also a movement to improve the quality of instruction by expanding the role of
teachers and doctors in universities.

Conclusion
This description of the Brazilian Educational System
and its history demonstrates how national education has
advanced in the last two decades exactly at the moment
that Brazil is cast on the world stage. We emphasize in
this history of Brazilian higher education the advent of
the Federal Institutes as the driving force of vocational
education, science, and technology of Brazil.
Innovations in teaching and research by Brazilian institutions in recent years are mainly supported by the increase
in federal investment in the field of education, including
the Science Without Boarders Program. It is expected that
in the coming decades Brazil will establish itself as a country of outstanding participation in science and technology.
Finally, the importance of the country's internationalization process in the education sector should be emphasized
as a key element in the construction of economic and social
development of a free and sovereign nation.

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