This review has been undertaken as part of the OECD’s efforts to support countries to enhance the relevance, effective and efficiency of their education policies, coordinated by the Policy Advice and Implementation Division within the Directorate for Education and Skills. The review was coordinated by Thomas Weko (Senior Analyst, OECD), and preparation of the report was coordinated by Simon Roy (Analyst, OECD). The review team consisted of María José Lemaitre (Executive Director, Centro Interuniversitario de Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile); Pedro Teixeira (Associate Professor, University of Porto, and Director of the Centre of Research on Higher Education Policy); Thomas Weko (Senior Analyst, OECD) and Simon Roy (Analyst, OECD). Simon Roy and Thomas Weko authored the report, with the support of OECD consultant Manuela Fitzpatrick, drawing upon input of Pedro Teixeira and María José Lemaitre.
The reivew was initiated by the National Commission for Evaluation of Higher Education (CONAES) and the Ministry of Education (MEC). It benefitted from the support of CONAES members Professor Simon Schwartzman and Professor Renato Hyuda Pedrosa. Professor Elizabeth Balbachevsky, from the University of São Paulo, developed a country background report to inform the review team. Within MEC, the review was supported by the leadership of Maria Helena Guimarães Castro (Vice-Minister), Henrique Sartori de Almeida Prado (Secretary for Regulation and Supervision of Higher Education, SERES) and Maria Inês Fini (President, INEP). Both INEP and MEC provided data and documentation to inform the analysis, the former under the leadership of Mariângela Abrão (Director of Higher Education Evaluation, INEP). The review team is indebted to Ricardo Correa Coelho, who acted as the principle point of contact for the review in MEC and to Leandro Gomes Cardoso and Manoela Vilela Araújo Resende, who provided invaluable logistical support.
The team met with a wide range of government officials and higher education stakeholders during a review visit to Brazil in March 2018, and is grateful for their time and input. They included members of MEC staff responsible for higher education; key staff from INEP; federal, state, and private bodies responsible for supporting postgraduate education and administrators, academic staff, and students from private and public higher education institutions located in Brasília, Recife, and São Paulo (see Annex 2).
Key planning and operational support for the project was provided by Manuela Fitzpatrick (OECD, consultant), and administrative support was provided by Jonathan Wright (OECD, Project Assistant), who also prepared the report for publication. The review team is grateful for the feedback and support received from Andreas Schleicher (Director, Directorate for Education and Skills, OECD) and Paulo Santiago (Division Head, Policy Advice and Implementation Division, EDU, OECD).
While the OECD review team benefited greatly from many discussions with a wide range of Brazilian stakeholders, as well as documents, data, and a country background report provided by MEC, any errors or misinterpretations in this report are the responsibility of the review team.