This book evaluates a World Bank-sponsored educational project in Brazil, drawing wider conclusions for educational policy in developing countries generally. The Northeast Rural Basic Education (EDURURAL) Project was implemented during 1981-87 in 218 rural counties of the North-East Region. It was designed to expand children's access to primary schooling, to reduce waste of educational resources which result from student dropouts and grade repetition, and to improve the quality of instruction. It is demonstrated empirically that in a wide variety of circumstances and especially in conditions of extreme poverty, there is no trade-off between quantity and quality in primary education. Where primary schooling is both quantitively and qualitatively deficient, properly targeted strategies to improve educational performance not only involve economically sound investments but also, ultimately, can be self-financing. KEYWORDS: RURAL | Education | training | educational projects | primary education | educational policy | project evaluation | poverty | Brazil | EDURURAL Proj. (BRAZI).
|
