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Socioeconomic adversity and higher education: Is the Quota Law a potential bridge to social mobility in Brazil?

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.32.8387

Keywords:

higher education, public policy, educational policy, social mobility

Abstract

This article aims to contribute to the debate on the role of the Quota Law regarding the potential social mobility of students with high socioeconomic adversity, using administrative data from a federal university in Brazil. We used Confirmatory Factor Analysis technique to construct an adversity index, composed of variables that may negatively affect access to higher education, such as students' socioeconomic background, parental education, and ethnicity. We classified courses by expected earnings and assessed how background is associated with course choice. Then, we used regression models estimated by the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) to identify the relative importance of the interaction between quota categories with the adversity index and the score on the admission exam (National High School Examination – Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio - ENEM) to predict course choice and consequent possibility of social mobility. The results showed that quotas can reduce the negative effects of socioeconomic adversity on social mobility. However, they are not completely sufficient to “break” the effects of the low quality of secondary education in relation to ENEM performance and, consequently, social mobility.

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Author Biographies

Fernanda Maria de Almeida, University Federal of Viçosa

Dr. Almeida holds a PhD in Applied Economics at Federal University of Viçosa – UFV. She is Associate Professor at the Postgraduate Program in Public Administration at the Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil. She teaches quantitative methods and public policy impact assessment methodologies. She is Coordinator of the Education and Development Research Group, of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). Her research has sought to understand the effects and impacts of educational policies on access to education, retention, dropout rates, social mobility and other factors related to socioeconomic development.

Kristinn Hermannsson, University of Glasgow

Dr. Hermannsson joined the School of Education as a professor of economics and education (educational leadership & policy) at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, in October 2013. From the Westfjords of Iceland, he is a graduate of Reykjavik University (BSc), Maastricht University (MSc) and the University of Strathclyde (MSc with distinction, PhD). Prior to joining the University of Glasgow, he was a Research Associate with the Fraser of Allander Institute in the Department of Economics at the University of Strathclyde. Prior to joining academia Kristinn was a policy analyst with the Icelandic National Audit Office. He is interested in understanding the role of education and skills for individual life outcomes and economic and social development.

Antônio Sérgio de Araújo Fernandes, Federal University of Bahia

Dr. Fernandes is a full professor working in the Postgraduate Program in Administration of the UFBA School of Administration (NPGA/EA-UFBA). He develops research related to public governance and public policies.

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Published

2024-05-27

How to Cite

Almeida, F. M. de, Hermannsson, K., & Fernandes, A. S. de A. (2024). Socioeconomic adversity and higher education: Is the Quota Law a potential bridge to social mobility in Brazil? . Education Policy Analysis Archives, 32. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.32.8387

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