Administrative and pedagogical practices that can contribute to the performance of students in municipal elementary schools in Prova Brasil

This research aimed to apply the methodology developed by Salgado Junior (2013) to identify administrative and pedagogical practices that may help enhance the performance of municipal primary school students in Prova Brasil. Unlike previous related research, this methodology utilizes two approaches: qualitative and quantitative. At the first stage, which is quantitative and uses data envelopment analysis, seven efficient schools were compared to three inefficient schools; schools were selected according to judgment and convenience. At the second stage, which is qualitative, multiple case studies were conducted to understand the internal processes that drive schools with similar characteristics to deliver different performances. Consequently, evidence was found that 26 administrative and pedagogical practices may help enhance students’ performance in Prova Brasil. These results are expected to assist in the process of improving educational quality, public policies, and resource management in education in Brazil.

Elementary school; Prova Brasil; Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA); Efficiency and investment in education