Parents’ schooling influences children’s education more in the Northeast

Children's taste for math also depends on the parents' feelings regarding the subject

The education of the parents or guardians is directly linked to their children's years of schooling. What's more, this impact is greater in the Northeast as compared to other regions of Brazil. While in this region the few years of study are 32.4% more prosperous, in the Southeast, in second place, the percentage is 27.9%. In the Northeast, 25.9% of the children of parents with one year of schooling are at least able to complete  High School. On the other hand, 4.7% obtain a Bachelor's degree and higher. In the case of parents with incomplete Elementary and Junior High School levels, when there are a few more years of schooling, 54.7% of the children complete High School or go beyond. In this case, 15% obtain a Bachelor' degree and higher.

The data are from the Platform of the Institute for Mobility and Social Development (IMDS), launched last week. The information was compiled from the National Household Sample Survey (Pnad 2014), the Brazilian Institute of Statistical Geography (IBGE), the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). IMDS' CEO, economist Paulo Tafner mentions that, among the regions, the Northeast is where the parents' education starts at a lower level. Thus, in principle, there is a greater chance of the child surpassing it. Another factor listed is the Brazilian investment in the educational sector in recent years, allowing children to have greater access to education than their parents had.