Education in BRICS

Education is one of the most challenging development issues for BRICS. The objective of this chapter is to compare education systems in BRICS. The method chosen to undertake this task is cluster analysis in order to verify the degree of homogeneity among educational systems in those countries. Our results suggest that the Russian Federation presents educational outcomes closer to the ones found in developed countries, while India is on the opposite side. Applying different criteria, Brazil, China, and South Africa are at the same intermediate cluster. The main argument of this chapter is that education systems, despite their historical differences and circumstances, have common elements of differentiation that place these systems at different stages with specific education agendas to face.