An independent evaluation of
ASIC's MoneySmart Teaching Program has found that the initiative supports stronger financial literacy and greater engagement in financial literacy education within the school community.
The evaluation, conducted by
EY Sweeney, showed that students understand the importance of financial literacy, with 96% of them saying it was important to learn about money, and 82% saying they were interested in learning about money.
“Working in partnership with state and territory education departments has been essential to the success of the program,” said ASIC Acting Chair
Peter Kell. “Financial literacy is part of the Australian curriculum. It is not an extra, and there is a broader commitment to embed financial literacy education more fully in schools.”
Since 2012, MoneySmart has provided professional development to more than 32,000 teachers across the country, to help them deliver financial literacy education in the classroom. The resources in ASIC's MoneySmart website, meanwhile, have been accessed by more than 70% of all Australian schools.
“Many teachers reported a positive impact on their own financial decisions in relation to credit cards, budgeting, and borrowing in response to engaging with the teacher professional development program,” Kell said. “Encouragingly, 83% of teachers using ASIC's MoneySmart Teaching Program reported that it increased their ability to teach their students about money, while 90% reported that engaging with the program gave them more confidence when talking about money.”
Phil Lambert of the Australian Government Financial Literacy Board expressed his support of the program.
“By continuing to deliver quality-classroom resources with practical and real-life examples, ASIC's MoneySmart Teaching Program is playing a vital role in ensuring young Australians have the knowledge and skills they'll need to make informed financial decisions, around managing their money, now and into the future,” Lambert said.
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