How can we effectively teach financial literacy to Ontario high school students?
Let's take a look at some of the resources I am exploring to complete my goals! Today, I will be focusing on how we currently teach financial literacy in schools across Ontario.
EXPLORING ONTARIO'S FINANCIAL LITERACY SITUATION
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:
The Ontario Ministry of Education defines financial literacy as, "having the knowledge and skills needed to make responsible economic and financial decisions with competence and confidence".
Here is an introduction clip of financial literacy in Ontario which can be found on EduGains.
In Ontario elementary schools we seem to spread out our financial literacy teachings across subjects. The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8, Financial Literacy (2011) is the resource guide for elementary schools. Most notably, educators are encouraged to teach financial literacy in mathematics and through the media literacy strand of language arts (pg3). This document highlights the areas in other curriculums that include financial teachings or have a finance related example that is encouraged.
Ontario secondary schools are very similar. The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9-12, Financial Literacy (2011) is a resource guide for secondary schools. This document recognizes that all subjects are linked to the development and knowledge of financial literacy skills in some way, but some are more closely linked than others. It is supposed to help teachers find the opportunities in each subject to emphasize responsible financial choices.
The only widely available course that explores personal finance is called "Mathematics for Work and Everyday Life" (MEL3E/MEL4E) which is an optional math course for grade 11 or 12 students. There is a course called Managing Personal and Family Resources (College)/Managing Personal Resources (Workplace) that teaches personal finance but it is not widely offered. A quick check at the course guide for my local high school indicated its not available.
What is very surprising is that MANY courses are offered about business, economics, and accounting to students in high school as a choice. None of these courses place emphasis on the personal aspects of finance. This is coupled with the fact that many of these courses are just optional, not required. The course titled "Careers" also does not touch on personal finance. These courses are great for personal management such as job searching and career planning, but nothing about financial planning.
It seems Ontario is satisfied with this approach. In fact, resources have been developed to help encourage schools to approach financial literacy in each discipline. For example, Principals Want To Know #23 is a document aimed towards principals to help them implement financial literacy in their schools. Many more supporting documents and videos can be found on the EduGains website I posted in the links section below.
REFLECTION:
Today, I learned about how financial literacy is approached in the Ontario context. Although some courses do offer a personal finance component, these courses are optional and perhaps inappropriately named to draw student interest. Most of the financial literacy is spread throughout the various disciplines taught. I agree with this. I think finances should be brought into all disciplines because it creates relevance for students and is an engaging and practical learning opportunity. It is also great to see how young children can learn about personal finances. This, too, is effective and sets our children up for success.However, why is there a disconnect between what I experience and what I see in the curriculum. I think it is because retention of personal finance diminishes as it gets more complex through high school. I believe we need to add something more concrete and mandatory to the high school curriculum to more effectively educate our students.
I learned about myself from this exploration. I was able to explore resources effectively and also curate some resources for future use. I was also surprised at what I learned because I thought Ontario's financial literacy education was poor, but it seems it is not ignored and has been extensively researched.
Next, I wish to take a peak into some other provinces and perhaps a few other countries to see how they incorporate financial literacy into their curriculums.
SOME IMPORTANT LINKS:
Ontario
Ontario's Curriculum Guide for Financial Literacy (Grades 9-12)
Financial Literacy in Ontario Schools (a special report)
EduGains (curriculum linked lesson plans)
A Sound Investment: Financial Literacy Education in Ontario Schools, Report of the Working Group on Financial Literacy (Toronto: Ministry of Education, Ontario, 2010), p. 7
EduGains (curriculum linked lesson plans)
REFERENCES:
Definition of financial literacy:A Sound Investment: Financial Literacy Education in Ontario Schools, Report of the Working Group on Financial Literacy (Toronto: Ministry of Education, Ontario, 2010), p. 7
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