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Following the implementation of the Lei das Cotas (Affirmative Action Law) in Brazil, there has been debate as to whether students who were admitted through affirmative action perform at the same level as students admitted through traditional methods. This article examines the results of the Exame Nacional de Desempenho dos Estudantes (ENADE) from 2009 to 2012 to determine whether there is a relationship between students’ performance at the university level and the manner of their admittance. We find that students admitted to public universities under affirmative action perform at similar levels to students who were not, whereas quota students in private universities perform slightly better than students admitted through traditional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from a national survey of formerly landless peasants residing in federal land-reform settlements in Brazil (Pesquisa Nacional de Educação na Reforma Agrária- PNERA) confirm that the Landless Rural Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem-Terra- MST) has been far more successful than other settlement movements in assuring a better quality of life for its members. This superior performance is attributed to an organizational structure that demands and assures membership involvement, and a commitment to participatory education in an environment that fosters and supports MST's goals and objectives. MST's members have higher self-perceived social status than members of non- MST movements, have better residential environments and more material possessions, and experience an education that emphasizes the movement's principles of social justice, radical democracy, and humanist and socialist values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]