EDUCATION ENTERPRISE A Lifetime of Returns
with Financial Literacy What school districts can do to build foundations for financial literacy. By Lindsay A. Gold, PhD, and Treavor Bogard, PhD
are more likely to make poor financial decisions and disre- gard long-term preparation for the future.
Given its importance, schools should begin teaching financial literacy in the early grades.
Building Financial Literacy
The ultimate goal of financial lit- eracy is to help children develop into financially literate adults mindsets and skills needed for a successful future.
I
Financial skills—such as rec- ognizing coins and their values, counting coins, making change, and balancing accounts—are an integral part of the educational curriculum. However, under-
n Aesop’s fable The Ant and the Grasshopper, the ant spent many days planning, saving, and building a food stash for the winter, while the grasshopper sang and frolicked only to be left hungry and cold when winter came.
Such childhood fables, rooted in oral tradition, are the source of such maxims as “A penny saved is a penny earned,” “Pay yourself first,” and “Get rich slow, or get poor fast.” These precepts may now be clichés, but they nevertheless capture a prevailing belief of the financially literate: successful people delay gratification to lay the foundations for better futures.
Financially literate individuals are prepared for finan- cial management and long-term economic success. They have the knowledge and skills “to make informed and effective decisions with all their financial resources” (Beacon Financial Education 2021). However, studies indicate that about 66% of Americans lack financial literacy (FINRA 2021). Without this knowledge, people
asbointl.org
standing such concepts as spending, saving, charitable giving, debt, and assets are just as important as financial skills. Yet they are often overlooked because of a lack of familiarity with financial literacy standards, inadequate teacher preparation in financial education, and confu- sion regarding requirements (Gold 2021). What can school districts do to build foundations for financial literacy?
1. Know the standards in your state. The first step for education leaders in supporting a financial literacy program is to know the standards. There are various national standards for personal finance, such as the Jump$tart Coalition’s National Standards in K–12 Per- sonal Finance Education (2017), and financial literacy, including the Council for Economic Education National Standards for Financial Literacy (CEE 2013). However, many decisions about financial education curricula are determined at the state level. Specific state standards can
SCHOOL BUSINESS AFFAIRS | JULY/AUGUST 2021 27
ZWIEBACKESSER/
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
