Forms and dimensions of education privatization promoted by state governments in Brazil, between 2005 and 2015

• In Event: The rise of education privatization across the globe: comparative perspectives of global and Latin American trends with emphasis in Argentina and Brazil

Proposal

This work results from the research titled MAPPING THE PRIVATIZATION STRATEGIES OF BASIC EDUCATION IN BRAZIL (2005-2015), financed by CNPq and Fapesp agencies, and developed by the Research and Study Group on Educational Policies (GREPPE, for its acronym in Portuguese). Privatization is understood as Belfield & Levin (2004, p.34), as an umbrella term referring to many different educational programs and policies. As an overall definition, 'privatization is the transfer of activities, assets and responsibilities from government / public institutions and organizations to private individuals and agencies'.
The data was collected from official government websites and those from other institutions related to private actors and to their scope of influence in educational policies or programs of 26 Brazilian state education systems. In Brazil, subnational governments (states and municipalities) are responsible for guaranteeing basic education.
Three dimensions of education privatization were taken into account, considering the compulsory and regular education stage:
(a) educational offer - resulting from public subsidy for the private educational offer, as a mechanism for expansion of school attendance and a subsidiary action of the State;
(b) management of public education - referring to the transfer to private organizations or corporations of the definition of educational priorities as well as of their implementation and;
(c) curriculum – considering the transfer to the private sector of the definition of what to teach, how to teach and when to teach, including processes of verification of learning. In summary, the definition and monitoring of curriculum design.
Results indicate that there is a multiplicity of private actors influencing subnational educational policies: in the public-school curricula, 358 different organizations have been identified; 156 acting in the management of education and 127 acting in the school supply. In relation to the type of private organization, the richer states of the federation suffer direct influence of corporations, especially in the curriculum, while in poorer states private foundations predominate. International financing agencies are more numerous in the field of management, while philocapitalists (Bishop and Green, 2008) more frequently act on educational supply. Corporate management instances were identified in 6 states.
Results also indicated a reduction in the supply of public-school places: north -23.40% and northeast 26%, the poorest regions of the country. This trend is even more worrying given that groups such as Kroton Educacional, which in 2018 created the SABER holding company with the acquisition of SOMOS Educação, began to operate intensively and extensively in basic education and elected the poorest regions as priority "markets".

References
Belfield, C e Levin, Henry. Education Privatization: Causes, Consequences and Planning Implications. Paris, UNESCO-IIPE, 2002
Garcia, T & Adrião, T. (orgs). PRIVATIZAÇÃO DA EDUCAÇÃO BRASILEIRA: INSERÇÃO DE ATORES PRIVADOS NAS REDES ESTADUAIS DE ENSINO. Curitiba: Editora CRV, 2018.
BISHOP, M e GREEN, M. How the rich can save the world. Bloomsbury Press, 2008.

Authors

• Theresa Adrião, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP)

• Adriana Dragone Silveira, Federal University of Parana - Brazil