The implications of neoliberal ideology on the policy of purchasing daycare places in Brazil: a review

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to investigate the implications of neoliberal ideology on the policy of purchasing places in daycare centers in Brazil, using a qualitative approach based on a literature review conducted in Novembre 2024. The electronic tools used were Portal de Periódicos da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO) and Google Scholar, using the keywords: ‘’purchase of places” AND ‘’early childhood education” AND ‘’children aged 0 to 3”. Eight articles were selected. The results show that, to expand the number of places in early childhood education, the government has used a strategy of achieving universal access targets by dividing services into parts, especially for preschools, and/or expanding agreements, primarily through the purchase of places, to care for children aged 0 to 3 in daycare centers. The consequences of neoliberal ideology on policies for purchasing places in daycare centers are accelerated by the process of judicialization and/or the social condition of the child. Therefore, it appears that a major problem lies in the lack of clarity regarding the quality of education offered by partner institutions and in the annual increase in the transfer of funds allocated to these partner institutions. Finally, it should be noted that this mechanism for purchasing places has weakened the quality of educational services offered in early childhood education, especially in daycare centers, as the right to access has taken prevailed over the right to quality.