Abstract:
Nearly two decades after democracy replaced military dictatorship in 1989, Brazil finally was able to ensure that nearly all its 50 million school-age children attended school. But the expansion required to achieve this goal-from around 4,000 schools in the early 1990s to around 30,000 in 2007 and from 150,000 to 700,000 teachers-transformed a high-quality public education system for the elite into a deficient system for all. Brazil had a half to a sixth as many high school graduates per capita as its South American neighbors. The Bradesco Bank had established the Bradesco Foundation in 1956 to run free schools for children of poor families. After the foundation realized its goal of establishing at least one school in each of Brazil's 26 states, as well as the federal district, in the 1980s and 1990s, it began transforming its schools into hubs to strengthen surrounding communities. By 2007, the Bradesco Foundation ran 40 schools, serving 108,000 students, from among the poorest families. But it still could not satisfy the immediate demand for places at Bradesco, some 250,000 students per year, let alone do much to help Brazil's other 50 million students. "What we have to do is improve the quality of education in this county," says Mario Ramos, co-director of the foundation. But how?
Learning Objective:
The case raises the questions: Should Bradesco train principals or teachers in the public schools? Should it adopt entire public schools to help them improve? Should it work harder with partners to develop better curriculums and methods for training public-school teachers? Should it venture further into the booming Brazilian "distance learning" movement? Should it become more of a grant making foundation, providing funds-and giving direction-to some of the literally hundreds of thousands non-governmental organizations (NGOs) already working in basic education?
