Lived Experiences and the Crisis of (Dis)belief in Education: the Reality at Public Schools in Salvador, Brazil (Poster 1)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Friday 3:45pm
  In Invited Poster Session: 2026 AERA Undergraduate Fellows Research Poster Fair

Abstract

Bahia, a Black-majority state in northeastern Brazil, has ranked among the three lowest-performing states in the country in recent years (QEdu, 2023). Learning outcomes illustrate the severity of the challenge: only 31.1% of high school graduates demonstrate adequate proficiency in Portuguese and just 6.1% in Mathematics (Todos Pela Educação, 2023). Salvador, the state’s capital, performs below the state average in both subjects (Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira, 2023). These disparities are particularly pronounced in state-funded public schools, which lag behind private and federally funded institutions (QEdu, 2023). When resources are limited, understanding how to improve student performance becomes a central policy concern. Existing research often emphasizes structural factors such as teacher training, resource allocation, and curriculum design, but pays less attention to the psychological dimensions of educational engagement. This study addresses this gap by examining students’ educational attitudes, understood as the beliefs and perceptions that shape their engagement with schooling, including motivation and participation in school life. Within this framework, academic expectations—what students believe they will realistically achieve educationally—are treated as a key measurable component that influences broader attitudes toward education. Using a mixed-methods convergent parallel design, the quantitative component analyzes nationwide data to examine the relationship between Brazilian students’ racial and socioeconomic backgrounds and their academic expectations. The qualitative component draws on interviews with public school educators in Salvador to examine how teachers perceive the relationships among students’ social backgrounds, future expectations, and attitudes toward schooling. The findings from both components are then integrated to develop a comprehensive interpretation. I hypothesize that racial and socioeconomic disadvantage will be negatively associated with students’ academic expectations, and that teachers’ narratives will reveal how these expectations shape students’ attitudes toward education and their engagement within the school environment.

Author

• Liz Andrade Varela, Davidson College