La internacionalización de la educación básica en Brasil: Una aproximación al caso de Brasilia-DF

Abstract

The internationalization process of education gained centrality in Brazil, both in the educational reality and in academic research. Although this process initially prevailed in higher education, it currently extends to the rest of the educational system, a fact evidenced by the increase of bilingual and international schools. This study seeks to identify the educational strategies implemented by the middle and upper middle classes resident in Brasilia-DF, in order to maintain their social status as an elite. In this sense, a new segmentation within the education system is observed: in addition to the traditional public/private separation, recently appeared a differentiation within the private school system between "traditional" and international schools. Using qualitative methodology, which includes documentary analysis and interviews with Brazilian families (between 2019-2021), we explore the role of education in the process of building elites. Findings show a high preference and demand for bilingual and international schools by richer families, that busts a wide educational offer of international certifications that enable the access to foreign institutions, evidencing the relationships between local and global in the views of the Brazilian elites.