An education professor at Don Bosco Catholic University, Adir Casaro Nascimento received her doctorate in education from State University Paulista Julio de Mesquita Fiho in 2000. Her thesis addressed the issue of indigenous education in Brazil, where, according to the Brazilian National Indigenous Foundation (FUNAI), there are some 460,000 aboriginal Indians spread across 225 communities designated for their inhabitance and another 100,000 to 190,000 living in other areas of Brazil. Dr. Casaro Nascimento, who began working with Brazilian aboriginals in the 1980s, has been particularly interested in the experiences of these indigenous students as they interact with intercultural environments. In 2004, she published Indian School: Stage of the Differences, which has been influential in changing the ways in which aboriginal students are taught.