Quality of primary education and lessons learnerd in a public school in Minas Gerais

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Brazil's main indicator for evaluating basic education is the IDEB (Basic Education Development Index). The IDEB aims to assess student learning performance, verify the quality of education in Brazil, and guide educational policies. However, the country is continental in size and has very different social realities throughout its territory, leaving doubts as to whether the IDEB is capable of adequately assessing
all national realities. This study objective was to analyze the results and goals presented by IDEB in relation to the reality of schools with students predominantly from vulnerable social classes. To reach the proposed objective, a qualitative and quantitative approach was adopted. Qualitative data were collected through semi-
structured interviews and analyzed using the technique of Content Analysis and Lexical Analysis. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and secondary source cluster analysis. Our analyses suggest that family structure and low family income are elements that negatively influence school performance. On the other hand, partnerships between educational institutions acting in areas of socially vulnerable families and non-governmental agencies or private companies' initiatives to aid basic education may be alternatives to improve school management. Furthermore, we observed that in educational institutions with students
predominantly from vulnerable social classes, there is considerable resistance to external assessments such as the IDEB, and differentiated practices to encourage these students to take the assessments are necessary. Finally, we believe that the IDEB assessment has difficulties in adequately measuring education in Brazil.

Keyword: Primary school. High school. School. Basic education development.