Economic and financial education for investment and financing decision-making in a graduate degree: Experimental evaluation of the effectiveness of two delivery methods

Abstract

The author of this study offers new evidence on the effectiveness of chatbots as an instructional mode via a randomized controlled experiment in which college seniors were given online training on the convenience of pursuing a master’s degree and the suitability of taking out a graduate student loan. Two educational formats, a YouTube video and a Facebook chatbot, were used for delivering that training to the experimental subjects. Economic education improved the economic knowledge needed to calculate a master’s degree’s viability. The effectiveness of financial education in improving student loan debt literacy was also verified. The effectiveness of the chatbot-based learning was greater than that of the video format for providing economic education. Only the chatbot delivery method was effective in providing financial education.