Research reveals that in Brazil there are more than 2.5 million teachers

A study carried out by Interdisciplinarity and Evidence in the Educational Debate (Iede), based on data from the latest survey by the International Student Assessment Program (Pisa), reveals that the teaching career is not attractive. Only 3.3% of 15-year-old students intend to become teachers, and only 2.4% want to teach in basic education.

The reasons for this factor may be salary. According to the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (Inep), teachers earn only three quarters of what other professionals with equivalent training earn. According to Iede, students with better performances gravitate to other professions, since students who intend to be teachers scored 18.5 points lower in PISA than the national average in reading, 20.1 lower in science, and 18.6 lower in mathematics.

In countries where teaching is an attractive profession, such as Germany, Japan, South Korea, Austria and Slovenia, students who want to be teachers did better on Pisa than the national average. According to the report Effective Policies for Teachers, from Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), “in countries where teacher salaries are higher, 15-year-old students are more likely to be willing to follow profession. The same occurs in countries where teachers believe that the profession is valued by society.”

Data from the last Pisa also reveal inequality between public and private education. While in the public education system only 43.5% of students wish to complete higher education, the proportion jumps to 68.8% in private education. Less than 1% of Brazilian males and 0.5% of females are among students with highest achievement on PISA in science (those with scores at Proficiency Level 5 or higher).

The data

Pisa is carried out among member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Brazil ranks 63rd in science, 59th in reading and 65th in mathematics, out of 70 regions assessed. Inep coordinates the School Census, with data from state and municipal departments of education and public and private schools in the country in basic education.