2026 年 34 巻 3 号 p. 57-74
This article examines how Brazilian states borrow and implement Primary Education policies inspired by the Ceara education model within a decentralised federal system. While policy borrowing has been predominantly analysed in cross-national contexts, considerably less attention has been paid to subnational borrowing processes within countries. Drawing on a qualitative multiple case study of Espirito Santo, Maranhao, and Sergipe, the study analyses how policy borrowing unfolds through the stages of attraction, decision, implementation, and internalisation. The findings show that borrowing does not result in uniform adoption but produces differentiated trajectories shaped by institutional capacity, organisational arrangements, and professional engagement. Sergipe remains closer to a stage of policy borrowing and replication; Maranhao engages in multiple processes of local adaptation; and Espirito Santo demonstrates greater autonomy in developing state-specific responses to learning challenges. The analysis highlights the strategic role of State Departments of Education in supporting Primary Education, despite municipal responsibility for this level, and underscores the importance of intergovernmental coordination and engagement by school-level actors. By focusing on within-country policy borrowing, the study contributes to international development debates by demonstrating the analytical value of subnational policy circulation and locally generated knowledge in addressing persistent learning inequalities.
