School-Based Financial Education Research Articles

A teacher educator's autoethnography of school-based financial education experience

A teacher educator's autoethnography of school-based financial education experience

Spillover effects of financial education: The impact of school-based programs on parents

AbstractThis paper studies whether school-based financial education has spillover effects from children to parents. Leveraging data from a large-scale experiment with public high schools in Peru and credit bureau records on the parents of the youth targeted, this study measures the impact of providing personal finance lessons during secondary school on parental financial behavior. Financial education lessons in the school yield limited average spillover effects, but lead to sizable effects on parental financial behavior within disadvantaged households. Among parents from poorer households, the treatment reduces default probability by 26%, increases credit scores by 5%, and increases current debt levels by 40%. The treatment has stronger effects among the parents of daughters, who experience a significant 6.7% increase in their credit score and a 28% reduction in their loan portfolio in arrears. Among the parents of boys, most of the spillover effects are muted.

What a difference three years of economics education make: Evidence from lower stream schools in Germany

A large body of literature documents that school-based financial education generally improves financial knowledge, yet little is known about the effect of instruction in the broader economic domain. This paper evaluates the effect of a curriculum reform introducing mandatory economic education on economic competence and knowledge in German lower stream schools, in which students have lower socio-economic status and end up having lower incomes when entering the workforce. While we find small but positive effects on basic economic knowledge and interest in economic matters, we observe insignificant effects on competences, i.e., factual and procedural knowledge in the economic domain. Quantile regressions reveal that the effect on students’ knowledge is widely consistent across the entire distribution. With regard to socio-demographic characteristics, we observe strong gender differences already before adulthood.

Is School-Based Financial Education Effective? Immediate and Long-Lasting Impacts on High School Students

Abstract Relying on a large-scale experiment in Peru, this study evaluates the effects of an in-class intervention on financial literacy and financial behaviour. As soon as the programme is over, treated students record significant financial literacy gains that do not hinder their academic performance. The programme also leads to immediate changes in downstream financial behaviour as measured by financial autonomy and financial savviness. Credit bureau records gathered three years later show that early improvements in financial literacy translate into limited, but positive long-lasting changes in financial behaviour. The treatment did not affect students’ credit or repayment behaviour on the extensive margin, but, among those few with outstanding loans, it reduced arrears by 20%.

Is School-Based Financial Education Effective? Immediate and Long-Lasting Impacts on High School Students

Is School-Based Financial Education Effective? Immediate and Long-Lasting Impacts on High School Students

Impact of the FutureSmart Online Financial Education Course on Financial Knowledge of Middle School Students

The increasing role of schools in promoting financial literacy underscores the need to investigate the effectiveness of school-based financial education programs. This study examined FutureSmart—a free, co-curricular, online financial education course—using a quasi-experimental design with a diverse sample of middle school students nationwide. The study assessed the impact of the course on students' financial knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, and explored the association of program implementation factors with changes in student outcomes. Financial knowledge gains were significant, substantial, and consistent across student subgroups and implementation factors for FutureSmart participants. Gains in financial attitudes and behaviors—specifically, financial confidence, engagement with parents about financial issues, current engagement with financial products, and intended future engagement with financial products—were not significant. The fundamental implication of this research is that FutureSmart effectively conveys financial knowledge to middle school students, contributing to a foundation for their future financial well-being.

The impact of financial education for youth

This paper evaluates if the excitement about school-based financial education is warranted. First, relying on recent experimental evidence, the paper takes stock of the impact of financial education programs aimed at reaching children and youth. Second, it complements existing studies by focusing on the potentially negative unintended effects of these programs. Relying on data from a large-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) in Peru, this paper investigates whether financial education programs have spillover effects on academic outcomes or if they widen initial inequalities due to heterogeneous treatment impacts. While delivery models that incorporate a mandatory course requirement yield large and robust impacts on financial literacy, voluntary after-school programs yield meager effects. These gains do not come at the cost of pervasive effects on the probability to pass a grade. Moreover, the impact of school-based financial education seems to be very inclusive, as treatment effects tend to be uniform across different sub-samples.

The Impact of School-Based Financial Education on High School Students and Their Teachers: Experimental Evidence from Peru

Using data from a randomized controlled trial in 300 public high schools in Peru, this paper studies the potential of school-based financial education programs for youth. The intervention improves students’ and teachers’ financial knowledge by 0.14 SD and 0.32 SD, respectively. The impact of the intervention also extends to socioemotional traits and behavior, as sizable positive impacts on self-control and consumption habits among students are identified. Teachers in the treatment group become more impulsive and risk averse, and they are more likely to save (9 percentage points) and to save formally (14 percentage points).

A review of financial-literacy education programs for children and adolescents

In this systematic literature review, we evaluate the effectiveness of financial-literacy education programs and interventions for children and adolescents. Furthermore, the key characteristics of the design of a successful financial-education curriculum are described. The evidence shows that school-based financial-education programs can improve children’s and adolescents’ financial knowledge and attitudes. Studies that assess the intention to practice good behavior and studies based on self-reported behavior also report positive effects. However, studies that assess the effects of financial education on children’s and adolescent’s actual financial behavior are scarce, and show hardly any effect. A promising method to teach financial literacy to children and adolescents in primary and secondary school is “experiential learning.” In college, the focus should be on specific “life events” of students. The findings may be useful for designing an effective school-based financial education program.

Financial Capability in Children: Effects of Participation in a School-Based Financial Education and Savings Program

A groundswell of interest in young people’s ability to understand and handle financial decisions has generated keen interest in financial knowledge and effectiveness of financial education. This study examines an innovative four-year school-based financial education and savings program, called “I Can Save” (ICS). Using a quasi-experimental design, the study examines quantitative and qualitative data to analyze program effects on financial knowledge. Elementary school children who participated in ICS scored significantly higher on a financial literacy test taken in fourth grade than comparison group students in the same school, regardless of parent education and income. Results suggest that young children increase financial capability when they have access to financial education and it is accompanied by participation in meaningful financial services.

The Kinder-Economy: A Case Study of Kindergarten Pupils' Acquisition of Economic Concepts

University of California, Los Angeles Who is economically literate? Certainly not the young couple that took a second mortgage on their home at an annual interest rate of 18 percent. Nor the black consumers in a low-income neighborhood who unknowingly pay for each grocery item from two cents to twenty cents more than their counterparts in a more affluent area. Nor the three out of every four students in thirteen thousand junior high schools sampled throughout the USA who, in a recent survey by the Joint Council on Economic Education, were unable to differentiate between descriptions of a capitalistic economy and a socialistic economy. Surely not the average citizen of the USA who, in another survey by the same Council, thought that the typical business made a profit of 50 percent or more on its investment (1). At what point must educators take action to create an economically literate citizenry? Kindergarten is not too soon! A primary education program, developed by the author (2) and piloted throughout California, has taken this vital first step. The Kinder-Economy is a teacher-guided program that introduces basic economic concepts to children in the primary grades through a program of action, simulation, and participation based on three precepts: 1. An important goal of education is to increase the decision-making skills of children at the earliest possible age. 2. Children should be allowed to make