Class Condition and Educational Performance in Brazil

This paper analyzes the effects of social class on the educational performance of young Brazilians students. Our theoretical approach in this study is based on Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of social class. We opted for a quantitative methodology using the database of the Basic Education Evaluation System (Saeb) tests carried out in 2013. We used descriptive statistics, correspondence analysis and multiple linear regression. Empirical results showed the persistence of the effects of social class on academic performance, although these results coexist with the impacts of variables related to schooling, individual life story and pedagogical aspects.

Keywords:
Social Class; Economic Capital; Cultural Capital; Educational Performance

Authorship

Bernardo Mattes Caprara

Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul (UFFS), Erechim/RS - BrazilUniversidade Federal da Fronteira SulBrazilErechim, RS, BrazilUniversidade Federal da Fronteira Sul (UFFS), Erechim/RS - Brazil

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6468-4769

Bernardo Mattes Caprara is a Professor at the Higher Teaching Program of the Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul and a PhD in Sociology from the Graduate Program in Sociology at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6468-4769 E-mail: bernardocaprara@gmail.com

SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul (UFFS), Erechim/RS - BrazilUniversidade Federal da Fronteira SulBrazilErechim, RS, BrazilUniversidade Federal da Fronteira Sul (UFFS), Erechim/RS - Brazil

Figures | Tables

Figures (13)
Tables (3)

Region		volume of economic and cultural capital				Total
Region		very low	low	medium	high
North	Number of students	2921	5606	3475	1968	13970
North	% in the region	20.9%	40.1%	24.9%	14.1%	100.0%
Northeast	Number of students	13327	19280	8365	3085	44057
Northeast	% in the region	30.2%	43.8%	19.0%	7.0%	100.0%
Southeast	Number of students	8827	29736	24198	12150	74911
Southeast	% in the region	11.8%	39.7%	32.3%	16.2%	100.0%
South	Number of students	1925	9584	9612	5815	26936
South	% in the region	7.1%	35.6%	35.7%	21.6%	100.0%
Center-West	Number of students	1742	5850	4425	2382	14399
Center-West	% in the region	12.1%	40.6%	30.7%	16.5%	100.0%
Total	Number of students	28742	70056	50075	25400	174273
Total	% in the region	16,5%	40.2%	28.7%	14.6%	100.0%

Variable	Effect
Students of the 3rd year of high school (ref. 5th grade of basic education)	66.603
Students of the 9th grade of elementary school (ref. 5th grade of basic education)	43.628
Federal school	32.513
Student that never repeated a year	23.819
Private school	22.013
Student with parents that encourage studying	17.605
Student who are a regular book reader	10.253
Student who has a computer at home	9.685
Female student	9.195
Student who have never quit school	6.875
Student in urban school	6.679
Student with a mother with complete college education	5.649
Student with 3 or more bathrooms at home	4.661
School with someone responsible for the library or reading room	3.424
School without signs of vandalism	3.102
Teacher uses projector in classes	3.097
School with a diversified book collection in the library	2.877
Student who are a regular literary book reader	2.569
Student whose family owns a car	2.352
Teacher who teaches ten or more years in the same school	2.163
Teacher with specialization	2.114
Teacher who uses internet in classes	2.019
Southeast region (ref. south)	1.840
Teacher graduated from a public university	1.479
Student who self-declared as brown	-1.889
Teacher without complete college education	-2.734
Student who self-declared as black	-9.014
North region (ref. south)	-11.156
Northeast region (ref. south)	-13.530
Student who works outside the home	-15.062