Education and Economic Thinking of Air Force Academy cadets

Abstract

This text aims to elucidate the following issue: what is the economic thinking of cadets at the Brazilian Air Force Academy (AFA)? In this regard, it is argued that the military institution's training system serves as a starting point for such research. Thus, an examination was conducted of selection notices, core curricula, and lesson plans to identify the conditions to which new entrants are exposed. Subsequently, to observe the outcomes of this process, field research was carried out at the academy to access students' final course projects. Quantitative methods were employed to assess student interest in specific topics and to categorize the accumulated data. Finally, a detailed analysis was performed on selected projects related to political economy and economic thought. The findings indicate fertile ground for the introduction of neoliberal ideas at the AFA; however, this does not necessarily define the cadets' overall economic outlook. In most cases, their views align with a developmentalist discourse that incorporates neoliberal elements, likely due to the influence of the administration curriculum, the command's selective openness to certain topics, and exposure to the digital environment.