RBEC: Revista Brasileira de Educação Comparada
Escopo: A RBEC: Revista Brasileira de Educação Comparada tem como missão difundir a produção qualificada de estudos e pesquisas científicas, de caráter teórico ou empírico sobre educação comparada. Esta publicação eletrônica difunde artigos da comunidade científica nacional e internacional, em português, espanhol, inglês e francês, que tratem assuntos e questões de interesse do campo da educação comparada nacional e internacional. Procura contribuir com formação de investigadores do campo da Educação Comparada divulgando estudos e pesquisas realizados por educadores, vinculados a instituições acadêmicas nacionais e internacionais. Artigos, relatos de experiência, entrevistas, comunicações, pesquisas e ensaios de autores interessados, são avaliados por pares, especialmente convidados pelo Conselho Editorial. Área do conhecimento: Ciências Humanas Ano de fundação: 2017 E-ISSN: 2595-7171 Título abreviado: RBEC: Rev. Bras. Educ. Comp. E-mail: rbecrevista@gmail.com Unidade: FE Editor responsável: Luis Enrique Aguilar Prefixo DOI: 10.20396
Os autores que publicam no periódico concordam com o texto simultaneamente licenciado sob a Licença Creative Commons Atribuição - Não Comercial - Compartilhar Igual 4.0 Internacional.
This article presents a comparative analysis of the professional doctorate in education in the United States and Brazil, highlighting the implications of the U.S. model—initially implemented in the 1920s—for the Brazilian context, where this type of program was formally established nearly a century later. In both countries, a longstanding challenge persists: to consolidate a distinct identity for the professional doctorate that clearly differentiates it from the academic doctorate and grants it the prestige necessary to achieve the expected social and educational impact. The article is structured into three main sections. The first two examine the Professional Doctorate in Education in the United States (Ed.D) and in Brazil (DPE), respectively. The final section offers recommendations for consolidating a distinct identity for the Brazilian DPE, focusing on faculty and student profiles, as well as defining activities and outputs.
Copyright (c) 2026 Robert Verhine https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Interview with Professor Dr. Felicitas Acosta
As part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Brazilian Society of Comparative Education, the Brazilian Journal of Comparative Education interviews Prof. Dr. Felicitas Acosta.
Copyright (c) 2025 Felicitas Acosta https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
This paper offers a conceptual analysis of the OECD’s Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) through the lens of the organizational sociology. Building upon a narrative review of the literature, it explores drivers behind the current prominence of PISA, using concepts derived from rational systems, social efficiency, and new institutionalist approaches. From the analysis of PISA’s rationales, logics of operation and impacts, the key finding is that PISA’s power and limitations function as a mirror, reflecting coinciding features of the program’s design and OECD’s characteristics mobilized by critics and supporters in opposite directions. Given PISA’s appeal for policymakers, the paper calls for further research to uncover its cross-cultural learning potential, rather than reinforce it as a tool of global accountability and standardization.
Copyright (c) 2024 Tatiana Feitosa de Britto https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
This text promotes dialogues on two levels: (1) with international and national authors who discuss the topic of Comparative Education and (2) with research in which I participated, understanding research as a project, organization of the theoretical-methodological framework, data collection, systematization , socialization, dissemination of knowledge produced. The main argument of this study focuses on the need for greater dissemination of academic studies that compare elements that make up national educational systems, whose materiality demonstrates the possibility of expanding beyond the understanding that comparative education is dedicated to the study of national educational systems . This study presents the need to expand the notion of comparative education to cover studies that involve comparability between regions, municipalities, educational institutions in addition to national educational systems.
Copyright (c) 2024 Flávia Obino Corrêa Werle https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Comparative education and its neighbours
As part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Brazilian Society of Comparative Education, the Brazilian Journal of Comparative Education presents a contribution from Mark Bray, University of Hong Kong.
Copyright (c) 2024 Mark Bray https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
As part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Brazilian Society of Comparative Education, the Revista Brasileira de Educação Comparada welcomes the contribution of Professor Erwin Epstein, who reflects on epistemological questions about the research field of Comparative Education and its identity.
Copyright (c) 2023 Maiza de Albuquerque Trigo https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Interview with Prof. Dr. Norberto Fernandez Lamarra
As part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Brazilian Society of Comparative Education, the Brazilian Journal of Comparative Education interviews Prof. Dr. Norberto Fernandez Lamarra.
Copyright (c) 2023 Norberto Fernandez Lamarra https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Book review on Le droit à l’éducation en Amérique latine
Book review on Le droit à l’éducation en Amérique latine.
Copyright (c) 2023 Luis Miguel Lázaro Lorente https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Interview of Prof. Dr. Luis Maria Naya Garmendia
As part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Brazilian Society of Comparative Education, the Brazilian Journal of Comparative Education interviews Luis Maria Naya Garmendia of the University of the Basque Country.
Copyright (c) 2023 Juliana Ribeiro de Lima https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Entrevista al Profesor Dr. Guillermo Ramón Ruiz
As part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Brazilian Society of Comparative Education, the Brazilian Journal of Comparative Education interviews Guillermo Ramón Ruiz, from CONICET- UBA.
Interview with Professor Dr. Maria Teresa Terrón-Caro
As part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Brazilian Society of Comparative Education, the Brazilian Journal of Comparative Education interviews Profesor Dr. Teresa Terrón Caro.
Copyright (c) 2023 María Teresa Terrón Caro https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Interview with Prof. Dr. Maria Lília Imbriba Sousa Colares and Prof. Dr. Maria Elisa Huber Pessina
As part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Brazilian Society of Comparative Education, the Brazilian Journal of Comparative Education interviews Prof. Dr. Maria Lília Imbriba Sousa Colares, as Vice-President North Region – SBEC, and Prof. Dr. Maria Elisa Huber Pessina, as Vice-President Northeast Region – SBEC.
Copyright (c) 2023 Maria Lília Imbiriba Sousa Colares, Maria Elisa Huber Pessina https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Interview with Prof. Dr. Débora C. Jeffrey
As part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Brazilian Society of Comparative Education, the Brazilian Journal of Comparative Education interviews Prof. Dr. Débora Cristina Jeffrey, as Vice-President of the Southeast – SBEC.
Copyright (c) 2023 Débora Cristina Jeffrey https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Interview with Prof. Dr. Flávia Obino Corrêa Werle
As part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Brazilian Society of Comparative Education (SBEC), the Brazilian Journal of Comparative Education interviews Prof. Dr. Flávia Obino Corrêa Werle, as Vice-President of the SBEC.
Copyright (c) 2023 Flávia Werle https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Special education in the financing of basic education
This article analyzes the budget policy in basic education aimed at guaranteeing the right to education for the target audience of special education. It is a comparative study of two Latin American contexts: Mexico and Brazil. Document analysis was used to systematize data on the legal framework of these countries' educational regulations relating to the funding of basic education. The results show differences in the mechanisms for linking resources to education and in the transfer of funds between the federated entities. However, the two realities share a funding policy and establish funding targets, which are not met. In addition, the amount of resources destined for complementary/supplementary support for Special Education to ensure educational quality is unclear.
Copyright (c) 2023 Adriana Barbosa, Reginaldo Célio Sobrinho https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The comparative education and the unbearable lightness of being
The Brazilian Comparative Society’s history, aged 40, evokes the unbearable lightness of being, associating the freedom’s lightness and the facts’ burden. Outlining this continuous tension, we point out the initial goal of opening windows and doors to the world, as a means to overcome an introjected educational system, as well as a neo-colonial cosmopolitism in order to point out another perspective to the sciences of education. A survey in 2013 detected 97 articles on comparative and international education published in 1999-2014. Nevertheless, we have been surprised by an initial estimate of around 840 digitally published papers in 2019-Jun. 2023. This boom mirrors the globalization context, comparative evaluations and incentives to competition for efficiency, not necessarily equality. This paper finishes with questions about numerous quantitative webs we are in, included in assembly lines of “scientific production” as industrial goods, instead of deeply reflecting on meaning and implications. Would we be puppets in a giant show of lightness and weight’s simulacra and simulation?
Copyright (c) 2023 Candido Alberto Gomes https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The internationalization of brazilian universities
In April 2023, at a meeting chaired by Prof. Luis Aguilar, I was honored by the Brazilian Society of Comparative Education for my contributions to the SBEC. I would like to point out that I was one of its founders in 1983 (40 years ago), having participated in various instances of its management, including as its President between 1997 and 2003. In this tribute session, in my speech of thanks, I recalled notable moments of the SBEC and also aspects of the trajectory of my career in Brazil since its inception in 1977, when I took on the role of visiting professor at the Federal University of Bahia. On that occasion, I was encouraged by many of those present at the SBEC meeting to record some of these memories and achievements in writing. This text seeks to meet this demand, at least in part, as it focuses on the academic activities I carried out in support of the internationalization of Brazilian universities, today a "hot topic", but a subject of great interest to me since my arrival in Brazil. The report is autobiographical in nature and so I believe that a few more general words about my career trajectory are appropriate.
Copyright (c) 2023 Robert Verhine https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Agroecology in professional agricultural education in Brazil, Colombia and Cuba
This research looks at agroecological educational conceptions and epistemologies in Vocational and Technological Education in Brazil, Colombia and Cuba through a comparative study. We carried out bibliographical and documentary research and analyzed it qualitatively. We researched theses and dissertations that support the epistemology of Agroecology in Vocational and Technological Education, focused on agricultural teaching and pedagogies specific to the agroecological proposal. We concluded that the dialog of knowledge contributes to the construction of agroecological knowledge. The theoretical basis is similar, but the lack of articulation regarding the implementation of agroecological policies is a major obstacle to sustainable rural development.
Agricultural Professional and Technological Education
Professional and Technological Education
Copyright (c) 2023 Célia Regina Appio, Adolfo Ramos Lamar https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The present investigation was born from the reflection on the New School (hereinafter EN), specifically with the new rural schools (hereinafter ENR), from the regions of Nariño and Putumayo in Colombia. The existing theoretical review on the object of the investigation was carried out, then the participants were characterized according to the social representation to which they belonged and the evaluation instruments were elaborated. After the organization of the information collected, the analysis of the research was based to support the conclusions along with the recommendations aimed at strengthening the NRA. The present investigation was of a mixed or integrative type, I collect qualitative and quantitative information. For the application of the instruments, conglomerates of students, teachers, trainers, coordinators and parents were grouped. Three social work groups were formed: Afro-descendants, indigenous people and peasants. Thus, the work unit was made up of 40 ENRs. A total of 147 people participated, of whom 44.2% were peasants, 40.8% indigenous, and 15% Afro-descendants. The final result made it possible to analyze the set of socioeconomic characteristics of the region, in addition to the curricular, training, administrative and community elements of the NRA. It was concluded that the EN is an important pedagogical exercise that has presented difficulties in the practical exercise of the ENR, for which it is necessary to provide the community with guarantees of training, resources and accompaniment to guarantee its adequate consolidation.
Copyright (c) 2022 Gabriela Beatriz Torres Achicanoy https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
A feminist lens on gender equality in high-rank research positions at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
This case study of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico´s oldest and largest university, examines the persistence of gender hierarchies in Mexican higher education. The chapter explores ways to address such hierarchies and contribute to women’s emancipation from a human rights perspective. The analysis delves into the presence and influence of women academics across career levels, fields of study, and access to higher wages in the University. It shows that, overall, the creation of universal laws that support gender equality has led to advances in parity among men and women academics. However, it also reveals that women still struggle to achieve high-rank research positions because persistent hierarchies and the glass ceiling impede women´s achievements more often than those of their male colleagues. The first part of the chapter explains the positive changes towards gender equality in international law documents, which in turn influenced Mexican laws. It then builds on Nathalie Heinich’s theory on the visibility of women in academia to explain why women face a glass ceiling barrier in the higher echelons of research, knowledge production and leadership positions. 1 The case study of UNAM’s women academics follows the theoretical discussion and the contributions of feminist theory to the current human rights framework for gender equality. Finally, we offer recommendations on how institutions of higher education can better support the advancement of women in academic life.
Copyright (c) 2022 Regina Cortina, Romina Quezada https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Challenges of a new humanism in a world in conflict
The central issue of the theme defined for this test theme is: what are the conditions for a new vision in favor of human dignity in an emerging multipolar world, in which fundamental human rights, the democratic system, the protection of forced migrants and other excluded populations , and even the very meaning of education, have been called into question, and in which various globally relevant regions are promoting their own regional schemes and perspectives? Especially in a Latin American context marked by uncertainty and instability of democracy and institutions, we believe that it is important to reflect on this question and seek answers.
Copyright (c) 2022 Adriana Chiancone, Luís Enrique Aguilar, Enrique Martínez Larrechea https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Multiculturalism as a topic of interest for Comparative Education in Wolfgang Mitter’s publications
This article aims to analyse multiculturalism as a topic of interest for the field of Comparative Education, based on an exploratory study from the publications of the comparatist Wolfgang Mitter (1927–2014). This exploratory study analysed 42 selected studies published between the years 1964 and 2017, and verified that Mitter focused his approaches on cultural pluralism, especially in Eastern European countries and the challenges facing educational systems in the context of globalisation. The theme of multiculturalism emerges as a topic of interest in the field of Comparative Education. Also, it demonstrates a macro perspective on the educational systems, educational policies and the international challenges facing education.
Copyright (c) 2022 Maiza de Albuquerque Trigo, Rooney Figueiredo Pinto https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
A comparative study of secondary education policies in Latin America and the Caribbean
The objective of this paper is to present a contrasting overview of current educational policies at the secondary education level (lower secondary education, ISCED 2, UNESCO) in four countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: Brazil, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Through a document-based institutional research (PAPIIT IN401218) and with a comparative theoretical-analytical support, in the cases studied we characterized important findings in the legal framework regarding the compulsory nature of secondary education, thus locating an important articulation with Goal 4 of UNESCO's 2030 Agenda, by declaring: " Guarantee inclusive, equitable and quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all". Among the conclusions obtained, we highlight that, over a little more than two decades, Latin American governments have implemented strategies to guarantee the compulsory and equitable nature of the so-called "lower secondary education", a situation that can be seen in the current education policies of the cases studied. education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all". Among the conclusions obtained, we highlight that, over a little more than two decades, Latin American governments have implemented strategies to guarantee the compulsory and equitable nature of the so-called "lower secondary education", a situation that can be seen in the current education policies of the cases studied.
Copyright (c) 2022 ZairaZaira Navarrete Cazales, Ileana Rojas Moreno https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Book review on Educação comparada: O estudo das Inter-relações na Educação e na Sociedade
Book review on Educação comparada: O estudo das Inter-relações na Educação e na Sociedade.
Copyright (c) 2025 Éllen da Silva Rufino dos Reis, Flávia Wagner https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Affirmative action for access to higher education in Brazil
This paper aims to present an analysis of Law n. 12,711, dated August 29, 2012, which is a Brazilian law known as the “quota law". To this end, it addresses how public policies on access to higher education became part of the federal government’s agenda. Next, the policy process and the cycle of politics were addressed, which allowed for the presentation of the theoretical framework and analysis of this work. As a result, it was found that the "quota law" covered four of the six stages of the policy cycle analysis, with the evaluation and termination phases missing.
Copyright (c) 2026 Emanuel Mangueira Carvalho, Adolfo Ramos Lamar https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Book review on Diálogos entre Brasil y Colombia: resultados de investigaciones en educación
Book review on Diálogos entre Brasil y Colombia: resultados de investigaciones en educación.
Copyright (c) 2024 Edna Paola Fresneda-Patiño https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
40 years of the Brazilian Society of Comparative Education
Elements for the design of the Editorial Policy of the Dossier 40 years of the Brazilian Society of Comparative Education.
Copyright (c) 2023 Luis Enrique Aguilar, Maiza de Albuquerque Trigo, Eliacir Neves França, Juliana Ribeiro de Lima, Evelise Dias Antunes https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Interview with Professor Dr. Marco Aurelio Navarro Leal
As part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Brazilian Society of Comparative Education, the Brazilian Journal of Comparative Education interviews Professor Dr. Marco Aurelio Navarro Leal.
Copyright (c) 2024 Marco Aurelio Navarro Leal https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Public policies and the context of influence
This article seeks to carry out a broad survey of the different bibliographic sources on public policy studies, integrating Italy and its political scenario, with the aim of identifying how the country establishes relationships with models of policy discussion and practice. Starting from the political context, the text presents a discussion on some specificities of the Italian educational context and particular historical-cultural configurations that allow a greater understanding of the direction taken by educational policies in this country. The article, therefore, allows a more readable picture of the local reality and context to be built up by confronting a wide range of aspects relevant to comparative research.
Copyright (c) 2025 José Henrique Arzani, Celia Smarjassi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Interview with Professor Jürgen Schriewer
As part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Brazilian Society of Comparative Education, the Brazilian Journal of Comparative Education interviews Professor Jürgen Schriewer, Professor Emeritus of Comparative Education, Humboldt University of Berlin.
Copyright (c) 2024 Jürgen Schriewer https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0