Study on schooling and consumption receives Anpad award

A study on schooling and consumption, held within the framework of the Executive Master’s in Business Management (MEX) of FGV’s Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration (EBAPE), was awarded by the National Association of Graduate Studies and Research in Administration (Anpad) in the category “Best Paper derived from a Professional Master’s dissertation”.

The paper titled “Escolarização e Consumo Distintivo – Um estudo sobre a escolha dos pais por uma Escola Internacional no Rio de Janeiro” [Schooling and Distinctive Consumption – A study about the choice of parents for an International School in Rio de Janeiro], authored by MEX 2016 alum Rosmari Capra Sales, advised by professor Marisol Rodriguez Goia, aims to better understand the choice for international schools based on a perspective of consumption and culture.

Inspired by the anthropological tradition, the author conducted field work to check how this particular consumption preference manifests itself within the context of the British School of Rio de Janeiro. In addition to participant observation, the author systematically collected data from focus groups and individual interviews, involving 13 parents of students. Guided by the understanding of the symbolic character of consumer practices, the paper explores the social representations of that school, the kind of networking established through it, and the “native views” of its “elitism”.

The award was presented during the 8th Anpad Marketing Meeting held on May 26 and 28 at Unisinos, in Porto Alegre. Go to the website to read the paper.