Given the expected advantages for individuals and societies, financial literacy is high on the policy agenda in many countries. This paper reports the results from a unique survey conducted on a sample of 13–16-year-old students in five European countries, aimed at measuring and comparing their level of financial literacy skills. The results indicate significant differences in the level of financial literacy across countries that are interpreted in the light of the differences in the countries’ educational policies and experiences with financial education. The findings suggest that supra-national coordinated action is needed to guarantee better financial knowledge and safeguard economic stability in future crises.
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We examined levels of financial literacy (knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and self-reported behavior) among 15-year-old high school students in the Netherlands (N=2025), and investigated which factors are associated with the different financial literacy components. Our findings show lower levels of financial literacy among students in the lowest track in high school, students with low mathematical ability, immigrant students, students with low SES, students with mothers without a university degree, and students who do not discuss financial matters with family and peers. Notably, our findings show a large gap in financial knowledge levels between the lowest and highest high-school tracks in the Netherlands. These findings are useful for designing effective financial education and intervention programs, and for identifying groups that may benefit the most from financial education programs.
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Financially vulnerable consumers are often associated with suboptimal financial behaviors. Evaluated financial education programs so far show difficulties to effectively reach this target population. In our attempt to solve this problem, we built a behaviorally informed financial education program incorporating insights from both motivational and behavioral change theories. In a quasi-experimental field study among Dutch financially vulnerable people, we compared this program with both a control group and a traditional program group. In comparison with the control group, we found robust positive effects of the behaviorally informed program on financial skills and knowledge and self-reported financial behavior, but not on other outcomes. Additionally, we did not find evidence that the behaviorally informed program performed better than the traditional program. Finally, we discuss the findings and limitations of this study in light of the financial education literature and provide implications for policymaking and directions for future research.
MULTIFILE
To make effective financial decisions, individuals need both financial and numerical competence. The latter includes having numerical knowledge and skills, and the ability to apply them in a financial context. A positive attitude towards numbers, combined with the absence of math anxiety, proves beneficial. Additionally, higher-order numerical skills enhance the quality of financial decision-making. Challenges in any of these numeracy aspects may contribute to financial difficulties. However, the specific aspects of numeracy that are of crucial importance remain unclear. Therefore, our research addresses the question: Which aspects of numeracy are related to having financial problems? In this article, we explore this question through a literature review.
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We provide evidence on the relationship between four different aspects of Financial Literacy: Financial knowledge, attitudes towards money, self-efficacy, and financial behavior. Ninth-grade high school students (N = 2,025) in 22 schools and in four different educational tracks in the western part of the Netherlands took part in the survey. A multilevel analysis at school and individual level was applied. Findings show that financial behavior is highly associated with attitudes towards money as well as financial knowledge. Attitudes towards money, in turn, are associated with financial behavior and financial knowledge. Furthermore, financial knowledge is related to attitudes to-wards money and financial behavior. In order to improve financial behavior among high-school students, financial education programs should have a holistic approach and address all aspects of Financial Literacy.
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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.
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This experimental study with a pre-post and follow-up design evaluates the financial education program “SaveWise” for ninth grade students in the Netherlands (n = 713). SaveWise adopts a holistic approach, emphasizing action rather than mere cognition. Benefitting from explicit instruction embedded in real-life contexts, students in the program set a personal savings goal and are coached on how to achieve it. The short-term treatment results indicated that SaveWise expanded the students’ level of financial knowledge; encouraged their intentions to save more, spend less and earn an income; and broadly improved their financial and savings behavior. The program demonstrated that it could serve as an effective and low-cost method to enhance the financial literacy of pre-vocational students, a financially vulnerable group. Although long-term effects were expressed only through financial socialization, this study offers evidence linking curricula to increased knowledge and improved behavior for a specific sample of students.
MULTIFILE
Financial Literacy is an essential competence in societies depending on individual responsibility and self-sufficiency. The purpose of this dissertation is to assess current levels of financial literacy among ninth-grade high school students in the Netherlands in order to identify which groups are particularly vulnerable to financial illiteracy. Once these baselines are established, the objective will be to systematically design, develop, and evaluate a financial education program to improve financial literacy among high school students in the pre-vocational track (VMBO) in the Netherlands. This dissertation consists of five studies. In the first study, we provide evidence of the effectiveness of existing financial education programs for children and adolescents and describe the key characteristics of the pedagogical design of successful programs. The second and third study describe the exploration of the financial literacy levels of high-school students, the factors that influence these levels, and an investigation of the relationships between the four different components of financial literacy in order to know the aspects of financial literacy that most influence financial decision-making among adolescents. The outcomes of the first, second and third study are used to systematically design, develop, and qualitatively evaluate a financial education program (study 4). In the last study, the effects of the financial education program on high school students’ financial literacy are examined. It is hoped that the insights gained will inform educational practice and policymakers in implementing and teaching financial literacy in schools, as well as shed light on the potential for further research.
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Europe’s aging population is leading to a growing number of people affected by chronic disease, which will continue over the coming decades. Healthcare systems are under pressure to deliver appropriate care, partly due to the burden imposed on their limited financial and human resources by the growing number of people with (multiple) chronic diseases. Therefore, there is a strong call for patient self-management to meet these patients’ healthcare needs. While many patients experience medication self-management as difficult, it poses additional challenges for people with limited health literacy. This thesis aims to explore the needs of patients with a chronic disease and limited health literacy regarding medication self-management and how support for medication self-management can be tailored to those needs.
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Using a framework for educational design research, this article reports and evaluates the (process of the) design of a financial education program. The program is designed for high school students in the prevocational track in the Netherlands. The aim of the program is to improve students’ financial knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and (savings) behavior. The main outcome of this study is the identification of design principles that can be used by others for the design of financial education programs: setting a personal savings goal, commitment with and reflection on this goal, discussing money issues with peers and family, hands-on activities with autonomy, and explicit instruction through animated video clips. The results show that our program, called “SaveWise,” improves high school students’ financial knowledge and skills, financial awareness, attitudes towards money, self-efficacy, and financial behavior.
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