The Expansion of Higher Education in Brazil: Academic Bias and Social Inefficiencies

This article tries to raise some hypotheses to explain, at least in part, social and economic inefficiencies in the Brazilian system of higher education. Combining two sociological models (meritocratic and credentialist), this article aims to comprehend the role of knowledge, experience and schooling (achievement)  and social origin or position (ascription)  in the determination of returns to higher education. Using the case of technologists we try to understand the social meaning of third level schooling. This level tends to reinforce social origins much more than achievement, even in a context of huge expansion and diversification.

The domination of academic bias in Brazilian education system – especially in higher education – seems to generate some of its inefficiencies. These inefficiencies are made evident in its inability to adequately qualify students to job market or in the lack of innovations and patent registration. The most outstanding inefficiency would be found in the social dimension: the new groups who manage to get college degree are excluded from the best positions in society by the devaluation of some titles or certificates and by the subordination of certain careers and types of training to the academic model.