Multiple roles of state governments in the Brazilian education policy: The cases of ceará, Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo and Pará

Abstract

The literature on federalism shows that the coordination of the Brazilian federal government is central to guarantee more consistency in social policies of subnational governments. This article aims to understand the role of intergovernmental relations in municipal education policies. Despite the constitutional determinations of collaboration among federal entities, there are different relationship models between states and municipalities in the education policy. This study is based on the comparison of four states — Ceará, Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo, and Pará — with different models of relationship seeking to identify the results in municipal policies. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were conducted and the analysis shows that the type of cooperation has implications in institutional and financial capacities, in the coordination of municipal policies, and in the implementation of federal policies.