Delivering education to the poor: investigating the role of self-motivation in Brazil
| Author | Simone Rezende,Christina W. Andrews,Wilson M. Almeida |
| Published date | 01 September 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020852315585063 |
| Date | 01 September 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
International Review of
Administrative Sciences
2017, Vol. 83(3) 524–540
!The Author(s) 2015
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DOI: 10.1177/0020852315585063
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International
Review of
Administrative
Sciences
Article
Delivering education to the
poor: investigating the role
of self-motivation in Brazil
Christina W. Andrews
Federal University of Sa
˜o Paulo, Brazil
Simone Rezende
University of Sa
˜o Paulo, Brazil
Wilson M. Almeida
Federal University of the ABC, Brazil
Abstract
In this multiple-case study, which involved seven municipalities in Brazil, we argue that
good education is a by-product from educators’ commitment, which in turn is explained
through self-determination theory. The research findings suggest that the support pro-
vided by local officials to teachers, their social status in small municipalities, and the lack
of externally imposed educational targets all contributed to the fulfilment of educators’
needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, thereby enabling the emergence of
self-motivation, and, as a consequence, of commitment. It is also argued that these
practices enhanced educators’ engagement in prosocial behaviour, which explains why
they went a step further to help their poorest students. The authors suggest that the
insights provided by self-determination theory can offer an alternative view to the
carrot-and-stick approach in educational policies. The article closes with suggestions
for further research on the role of motivation and prosocial behaviour on public service
effectiveness.
Points for practitioners
Administrative practices associated with social policies have often avoided clarifying their
theoretical assumptions, failing to state the implications that these may have on human
motivation. By examining the case of education in poor municipalities, the study shows
not only that commitment is a key factor for achieving policy goals but also that self-
determination theory provides the theoretical explanations for this commitment. The
knowledge of theoretical principles related to self-motivation can assist practitioners in
social policy design, where the long-term goals are morerelevant than short-term targets.
Corresponding author:
Christina W. Andrews, Federal University of Sa
˜o Paulo, Rua Fidalga, 586, Sa
˜o Paulo 05432-000, Brazil.
Email: christina.andrews@unifesp.br
Policy-makers can find creative alternatives to deal with specific contexts when instructed
by overarching theories on motivation such as self-determination theory.
Keywords
educational policies, local government, poverty, public servant motivation,
self-determination theory
Introduction
In the past decade, Brazil took bold steps to improve the access to basic public
education. The hallmark of this move came in 1997 with the creation of a federal
fund known as the FUNDEF (Fundo de Manutenc¸a
˜o e Desenvolvimento do Ensino
Fundamental e de Valorizac¸a
˜o do Magiste
´rio). Through the redistribution of fed-
eral, state and local financial resources, this fund created a strong incentive for
local governments to expand school enrolment for children between 7 and 14 years
old. It was quite successful in achieving its initial goal: whereas in 1992 only 86.6
per cent of Brazilian children were enrolled in schools, by 2007 this number was up
to 97 per cent (Henriques et al., 2009). This success led the federal government to
create in 2007 a new fund, the FUNDEB (Fundo de Manutenc¸a
˜o e Desenvolvimento
da Educac¸a
˜oBa
´sica e de Valorizac¸a
˜o dos Profissionais da Educac¸a
˜o), which adopted
the same redistribution mechanism as the FUNDEF, but this time expanding the
programme to include pre-school and high school education.
However, as experts in educational policies have noted, most developing coun-
tries already have been able to deliver universal access to primary education
(Hanusheck and Wo
¨ßmann, 2007; Winkler and Gershberg, 2000). Now, the chal-
lenge is to improve student performance, a goal with which both developed coun-
tries and emerging economies are currently struggling. In the past two decades, new
waves of educational reforms have emerged to face this recent challenge. The first
wave, implemented mostly in developed countries, relied on market mechanisms
and focused on creating incentives for the expansion of charter schools and the
adoption of voucher systems. By the late 1990s, the efficacy of such policies had
already been questioned (Carnoy, 1997; Levin and Driver, 1997; Lubienski, 2003).
This opened the path for the second wave of educational reforms known as ‘high-
stakes testing’, which focused on teacher accountability strategies by relying on
rewards (bonus payments) and sanctions (contract termination, school closing),
assuming that this would boast student performance. Nevertheless, the expect-
ations have since been frustrated (Amrein and Berliner, 2002; Au, 2007; Jones
et al., 1999; March et al., 2011; Nichols et al., 2006; Ravitch, 2010; Supovitz,
2009; West, 2010). The carrot-and-stick approach in educational policy has
much in common with the New Public Management model, especially the belief
that self-interest is the essence of human nature (see Haque, 2007). This article
seeks to provide an alternative view on human motivation that has relevant impli-
cations for educational policies and public services in general.
Andrews et al. 525
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