Evidence of the relationship between the frequency in children’s education and the performance of public elementary school students in Brazil

Authors

  • Walcir Soares da Silva Junior Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba-PR, Brasil.
  • Flávio de Oliveira Gonçalves Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba-PR, Brasil.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20947/S0102-30982016a0015

Keywords:

Early childhood education. Propensity score matching. Least squares weighted by Propensity Score.

Abstract

This paper aims to estimate the impact of the frequency of child education in the proficiency of public elementary school students in Brazil, using as proxy the scores of students in Portuguese and Math tests available in Prova Brasil 2011. The Propensity Score Matching methodology was used under the selection hypothesis by observable variables, which aims to find a counterfactual. In order to control characteristics related to the students' performance, linear regressions were estimated by the robust method of least squares weighted by propensity scores. The results point to positive and statistically significant effects on the grades of Portuguese and Math in the 5th and 9th grades for students who began in pre-school and for students who started in kindergarten compared with those who started directly in the primary school.

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Author Biographies

Walcir Soares da Silva Junior, Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba-PR, Brasil.

Doutorando do Programa de Pós- graduação em Desenvolvimento Econômico da Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR). Realizou estágio no Institute of Education (University College London, Inglaterra), com bolsa Capes – PDSE. É mestre pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Desenvolvimento Econômico da UFPR e pesquisador do Núcleo de Avaliação de Políticas Públicas Educacionais (Nappe), da UFPR.

Flávio de Oliveira Gonçalves, Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba-PR, Brasil.

Doutor em Economia pela Universidade de Brasília, visitou a Universita Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore di Milano (Doutorado sanduíche), Scuola Superiore Sant´Anna (Pós-Doutorado) e Universitá Bocconi. É Professor da Universidade Federal do Paraná, com atuação no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Desenvolvimento Econômico.

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Published

2016-10-10

How to Cite

Silva Junior, W. S. da, & Gonçalves, F. de O. (2016). Evidence of the relationship between the frequency in children’s education and the performance of public elementary school students in Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Population Studies, 33(2), 283–301. https://doi.org/10.20947/S0102-30982016a0015

Issue

Section

Original Articles