Relationship between financial literacy of preschool children and their parents

Abstract

Introduction. The intensive development of the financial services market, optimal financial relations, which characterize the socio-economic situation in the modern world, require the improvement of the quality of education. The social order of the education system is a competitive member of society with a developed economic thinking and the ability to solve emerging problems in a constantly changing environment. Of particular importance is the task of developing financial literacy at the stage of preschool childhood, when children are just beginning to form ideas about financial categories. The purpose of this article was to identify the relationship between the levels of development of financial literacy in children and their parents. Materials and methods. The study involved 226 children of senior preschool age and their parents in the amount of 134 people. The main method for studying the financial literacy of older preschool children was a survey conducted on the basis of A.A. Smolentsev, modified by us. In order to identify the level of financial literacy of parents, we used a survey. For statistical processing of the obtained results, the Pearson correlation coefficient was used. Results. A high level of financial literacy was shown by 13% of six-year-old children: they explained the meaning of financial concepts, showed a steady interest in the work of their parents. 57% of children were at the average level. The existing representations of preschoolers were characterized as fuzzy and superficial. A low level was found in 30% of respondents. Preschoolers had no idea about the economic life of people. The results of the survey of parents showed the following: 12% of respondents were at a high level of financial literacy, 56% – at an average level and 32% – at a low level. A positive correlation was found between the levels of financial literacy of six-year-old children and their parents (p<0.05). Conclusion. The novelty of the study is to identify the relationship between the level of financial literacy of children and the specifics of economic literacy of their parents. The results obtained will improve the scientific and methodological support for the process of developing the basics of financial literacy in children of six years old, and can also be used in the development of preschool education programs.