Categories: NewsEducation

We don’t need banks teaching kids about money. Schools have it covered

<p>The Victorian government this week <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;jamesmerlino&period;com&period;au&sol;media-releases&sol;school-banking-programs-to-be-banned&sol;">announced<&sol;a> it would ban all banking schemes from operating in public schools from 2021&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>This includes the controversial <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;commbank&period;com&period;au&sol;banking&sol;kids&sol;dollarmites&period;html">Dollarmites<&sol;a> program&comma; run by Commonwealth Bank&comma; which teaches primary school children to save money and develop banking habits&period; Often&comma; this is done by opening an account with the bank&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Victorian government will replace these bank-led programs with school-led financial literacy programs&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Given the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;download&period;asic&period;gov&period;au&sol;media&sol;5285317&sol;asic-consultation-paper-323-review-of-school-banking-programs&period;pdf">lack of evidence<&sol;a> school banking programs lead to better financial literacy&comma; their removal won’t have much impact on children’s learning&period; In fact&comma; it might be the impetus schools need to take financial literacy education more seriously&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>How financial literacy has changed in Australia<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Many families and school communities participate in school banking simply because it is a tradition&period; In 2019&comma; the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;abc&period;net&period;au&sol;news&sol;2019-02-20&sol;dollarmites-program-out-of-schools-aeu-push-banking&sol;10806554">ABC reported<&sol;a> nearly two-thirds of the nation’s schools participate in school banking programs&period; The most well known is delivered by the Commonwealth Bank&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The incentive of cash payments to schools has contributed to the survival of the schemes despite a lack of evidence they do&comma; in fact&comma; improve children’s financial literacy skills&period; It was revealed in 2018&comma; the Commonwealth Bank had paid a total of almost <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;abc&period;net&period;au&sol;news&sol;2018-10-02&sol;commonwealth-bank-dollarmite-accounts&sol;10315746&quest;nw&equals;0">&dollar;400&comma;000 to state schools<&sol;a> across Queensland in a bid to encourage more students to join its banking program the year before&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>At best&comma; such programs promote saving habits&comma; which can be taught by parents&period; At worst they are an administrative burden and a potential disruption to the flow of teaching and learning in Australian classrooms&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><amp-twitter data-tweetid&equals;"960994339286523912" layout&equals;"responsive" width&equals;"600" height&equals;"480"><&sol;amp-twitter><&sol;p>&NewLine;<div data-react-class&equals;"Tweet" data-react-props&equals;"&lbrace;&quot&semi;tweetId&quot&semi;&colon;&quot&semi;960994339286523912&quot&semi;&rcub;">The Commonwealth Bank <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;commbank&period;com&period;au&sol;banking&sol;school-banking&sol;information-for-schools&period;html&num;&colon;&percnt;7E&colon;text&equals;Established&percnt;20in&percnt;201931&percnt;2C&percnt;20School&percnt;20Banking&comma;wallet&percnt;20on&percnt;20School&percnt;20Banking&percnt;20day&period;">established its school banking program<&sol;a> in 1931 to teach &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;money-management” skills to primary school students&period; But life has changed significantly since then&period;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>We are rapidly moving towards a <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;mozo&period;com&period;au&sol;bank-accounts&sol;articles&sol;australians-shun-cash-in-2020-but-70-still-oppose-cashless-society">cashless society<&sol;a> and the money-management skills required last century have evolved to significantly more <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;ato&period;gov&period;au&sol;about-ato&sol;research-and-statistics&sol;in-detail&sol;general-research&sol;the-case-for-teaching-and-learning-about-taxation-and-superannuation-at-school&sol;&quest;page&equals;4">complex consumer and financial literacy<&sol;a> skills&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Along with basic money management&comma; students leave school needing to understand the financial implications of subscriptions to services such as gym memberships&comma; mobile phone plans and even TV streaming services&period; They need to understand credit card debt&comma; buy-now-pay-later schemes&comma; <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;studyassist&period;gov&period;au&sol;help-loans&sol;hecs-help">student loans<&sol;a>&comma; superannuation&comma; taxation and of course the traditional lending structures of personal loans and mortgages&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Where is financial literacy in the curriculum&quest;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>It has long been acknowledged financial literacy <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;ato&period;gov&period;au&sol;about-ato&sol;research-and-statistics&sol;in-detail&sol;general-research&sol;the-case-for-teaching-and-learning-about-taxation-and-superannuation-at-school&sol;&quest;page&equals;4">should be part of the school curriculum<&sol;a>&period; Most recently&comma; this has been supported by the federal and state governments in the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;docs&period;education&period;gov&period;au&sol;system&sol;files&sol;doc&sol;other&sol;final&lowbar;-&lowbar;alice&lowbar;springs&lowbar;declaration&lowbar;-&lowbar;17&lowbar;february&lowbar;2020&lowbar;security&lowbar;removed&period;pdf">2019 Alice Springs &lpar;Mparntwe&rpar; Education Declaration<&sol;a>&period; The declaration specifically mentions the importance of developing strong financial skills among Australian students&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>While the Australian Curriculum doesn’t have an explicit financial literacy curriculum&comma; it provides a <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;australiancurriculum&period;edu&period;au&sol;resources&sol;curriculum-connections&sol;portfolios&sol;consumer-and-financial-literacy&sol;">range of resources<&sol;a> to help teachers implement financial literacy at all levels of schooling&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>One of these resources is the <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;curriculum&period;edu&period;au&sol;verve&sol;&lowbar;resources&sol;National&lowbar;Consumer&lowbar;Financial&lowbar;Literacy&lowbar;Framework&lowbar;FINAL&period;pdf">Consumer and Financial Literacy Framework<&sol;a>&comma; which includes a strong rationale for financial literacy education in Australian schools&comma; along with guidance on the progression of learning from the first year of school through to senior secondary&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Financial literacy education is embedded in the curriculum in two ways&period; First&comma; it appears explicitly in several subject areas&colon; <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;australiancurriculum&period;edu&period;au&sol;resources&sol;curriculum-connections&sol;dimensions&sol;&quest;Id&equals;45717&amp&semi;YearLevels&equals;42680">mathematics<&sol;a>&comma; economics and business&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Within maths&comma; children learn about the value of money&period; They learn to&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li>&NewLine;<p>solve problems involving money<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>&NewLine;<p>manage money by creating budgets<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>&NewLine;<p>explore and calculate percentage discounts<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>&NewLine;<p>work out the best value when making purchases<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>&NewLine;<p>choose financial products and solve problems that involve simple and compound interest&comma; and profit and loss&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p>In economics and business&comma; students learn how to make responsible and informed decisions about consumer issues&comma; money management and assets&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Secondly&comma; the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;australiancurriculum&period;edu&period;au&sol;f-10-curriculum&sol;general-capabilities&sol;">Australian Curriculum General Capabilities <&sol;a> and <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;australiancurriculum&period;edu&period;au&sol;f-10-curriculum&sol;cross-curriculum-priorities&sol;">Cross Curriculum Priorities <&sol;a> describe the overarching skills&comma; knowledge&comma; behaviours and dispositions necessary for the development of successful and active citizens&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"align-center zoomable"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;files&sol;372726&sol;original&sol;file-20201203-15-cft806&period;jpg&quest;ixlib&equals;rb-1&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;q&equals;45&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;w&equals;1000&amp&semi;fit&equals;clip"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;files&sol;372726&sol;original&sol;file-20201203-15-cft806&period;jpg&quest;ixlib&equals;rb-1&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;q&equals;45&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;w&equals;754&amp&semi;fit&equals;clip" sizes&equals;"&lpar;min-width&colon; 1466px&rpar; 754px&comma; &lpar;max-width&colon; 599px&rpar; 100vw&comma; &lpar;min-width&colon; 600px&rpar; 600px&comma; 237px" srcset&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;files&sol;372726&sol;original&sol;file-20201203-15-cft806&period;jpg&quest;ixlib&equals;rb-1&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;q&equals;45&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;w&equals;600&amp&semi;h&equals;338&amp&semi;fit&equals;crop&amp&semi;dpr&equals;1 600w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;files&sol;372726&sol;original&sol;file-20201203-15-cft806&period;jpg&quest;ixlib&equals;rb-1&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;q&equals;30&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;w&equals;600&amp&semi;h&equals;338&amp&semi;fit&equals;crop&amp&semi;dpr&equals;2 1200w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;files&sol;372726&sol;original&sol;file-20201203-15-cft806&period;jpg&quest;ixlib&equals;rb-1&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;q&equals;15&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;w&equals;600&amp&semi;h&equals;338&amp&semi;fit&equals;crop&amp&semi;dpr&equals;3 1800w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;files&sol;372726&sol;original&sol;file-20201203-15-cft806&period;jpg&quest;ixlib&equals;rb-1&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;q&equals;45&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;w&equals;754&amp&semi;h&equals;424&amp&semi;fit&equals;crop&amp&semi;dpr&equals;1 754w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;files&sol;372726&sol;original&sol;file-20201203-15-cft806&period;jpg&quest;ixlib&equals;rb-1&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;q&equals;30&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;w&equals;754&amp&semi;h&equals;424&amp&semi;fit&equals;crop&amp&semi;dpr&equals;2 1508w&comma; https&colon;&sol;&sol;images&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;files&sol;372726&sol;original&sol;file-20201203-15-cft806&period;jpg&quest;ixlib&equals;rb-1&period;1&period;0&amp&semi;q&equals;15&amp&semi;auto&equals;format&amp&semi;w&equals;754&amp&semi;h&equals;424&amp&semi;fit&equals;crop&amp&semi;dpr&equals;3 2262w" alt&equals;"Boy putting a coin into piggy bank&period;" &sol;><&sol;a><figcaption><span class&equals;"caption">Financial literacy is about a lot more than just teaching kids how to save&period;<&sol;span> <span class&equals;"attribution"><a class&equals;"source" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;shutterstock&period;com&sol;image-photo&sol;little-boy-putting-pocket-money-piggy-1100944310">Shutterstock<&sol;a><&sol;span><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>Financial literacy is embedded in each of these two structures and teachers have the opportunity to use relevant learning tasks&period; For example&comma; primary students in <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;researchdirect&period;westernsydney&period;edu&period;au&sol;islandora&sol;object&sol;uws&colon;35574&sol;">one study<&sol;a> borrowed money from their school principal to design and conduct a market stall&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>To do this&comma; they had to come up with a business plan&comma; understand their break-even point&comma; and market and sell their products to other students at the school&period; The students then had to repay their debt to the principal before deciding on how to spend their profits&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>This rich experience addressed several aspects of the maths curriculum while teaching the students about important financial literacy concepts&period; It was also authentic and engaging&period; It provided students with a sense of agency when they were able to use their profits to buy and donate Christmas gifts for needy children&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Do we need to do more&quest;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>While financial literacy is embedded into the curriculum&comma; there is more work to be done inside and outside schools&period; Schools need to make sure financial literacy is explicitly taught in conjunction with key subject areas&period; A way to ensure this happens is to have it made more explicit in the Australian Curriculum&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;onlinelibrary-wiley-com&period;ezproxy&period;uws&period;edu&period;au&sol;doi&sol;full&sol;10&period;1111&sol;j&period;1741-3729&period;2010&period;00616&period;x">Parents influence<&sol;a> their children’s financial behaviours&period; Unfortunately we can’t assume all parents have sound financial literacy&comma; nor can we assume all teachers do&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Financial literacy education for the broader community is critical if we are to ensure parents model positive financial behaviour to their children&period; ASIC’s <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;moneysmart&period;gov&period;au&sol;">MoneySmart<&sol;a> website is a good place for parents to improve their financial literacy&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Likewise&comma; teachers must have the opportunity to engage with professional development to increase their personal financial capabilities&comma; as well as their ability to incorporate financial literacy into their teaching&period;<&excl;-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag&period; Please DO NOT REMOVE&period; --><img style&equals;"border&colon; none &excl;important&semi; box-shadow&colon; none &excl;important&semi; margin&colon; 0 &excl;important&semi; max-height&colon; 1px &excl;important&semi; max-width&colon; 1px &excl;important&semi; min-height&colon; 1px &excl;important&semi; min-width&colon; 1px &excl;important&semi; opacity&colon; 0 &excl;important&semi; outline&colon; none &excl;important&semi; padding&colon; 0 &excl;important&semi; text-shadow&colon; none &excl;important&semi;" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;counter&period;theconversation&period;com&sol;content&sol;151093&sol;count&period;gif&quest;distributor&equals;republish-lightbox-basic" alt&equals;"The Conversation" width&equals;"1" height&equals;"1" &sol;><&excl;-- End of code&period; If you don't see any code above&comma; please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button&period; The page counter does not collect any personal data&period; More info&colon; https&colon;&sol;&sol;theconversation&period;com&sol;republishing-guidelines --><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h6><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;theconversation&period;com&sol;profiles&sol;catherine-attard-220860">Catherine Attard<&sol;a>&comma; Associate Professor&comma; Mathematics Education&comma; <em><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;theconversation&period;com&sol;institutions&sol;western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University&period; <&sol;a><&sol;em>This article is republished from <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;theconversation&period;com">The Conversation<&sol;a> under a Creative Commons license&period; Read the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;theconversation&period;com&sol;we-dont-need-banks-teaching-kids-about-money-schools-have-it-covered-151093">original article<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;h6>&NewLine;

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