Brazil: Diverse Experiences in Institutional Governance in the Public and Private Sectors

Abstract

The main objective of this chapter is to investigate the Brazilian Higher Education system focusing in its institutions’ internal environment, that is, how power is distributed inside institutions and the main traits of the inner decision-making process. Brazilian higher education is known for its diversity, in both the public sector and the much larger private sector. This chapter highlights these differences, establishing connections between this diversity and the ways institutions build-up their internal decision-making process. The study considers how this process is perceived by the central actors in all higher education institutions – the academic staff.