Students in Ballarat will learn to become confident and informed financial consumers through a national program designed to help improve the financial literacy of Australian school students.
Member for Ballarat, Catherine King MP and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Bernie Ripoll MP, today visited a Year 8 Maths Class at Ballarat High School where the MoneySmart Teaching program will be trialled in the first half of the 2013 school year. They were joined in the classroom by 23 students from Black Hill Primary School.
The MoneySmart Teaching Secondary package is a new resource developed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and funded by the Australian Government to help teachers deliver consumer and financial literacy in the classroom.
"I am delighted that Ballarat High School will be one of approximately 35 secondary schools across Australia to trial the MoneySmart Teaching Secondary package," Ms King said.
"Research shows that it is young people, particularly those aged 18 to 24, who have the lowest levels of financial literacy," Ms King said.
"Knowledge is the key to unlocking long-term generational change in attitudes and behaviour. Integrating these skills into the classroom will play a crucial role in helping our young people develop the skills, knowledge and confidence to make good financial decisions."
ASIC's MoneySmart Teaching Secondary package will introduce students in Years 7 – 10 to the financial principles of saving, spending, donating and investing wisely. It uses financial literacy as a context for learning in mathematics, science and English, with all units of work aligned to the Australian Curriculum.
"MoneySmart Teaching has been developed to help young people meet real life challenges," Mr Ripoll said.
"The year 8 students we visited today are studying, How can we access money overseas?, teaching them about currency and currency conversions using the example of a school excursion to Japan."
ASIC is also developing a range of online digital activities, freely available to all teachers and parents, aimed at creating engaging and fun learning in the classroom and at home.
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) is leading the delivery of the MoneySmart Teaching program in Victoria.
ASIC's MoneySmart initiative promotes general financial literacy and aims to give people of all ages the tools to take control of their finances and deal with cost of living pressures.
To find out more about ASIC's MoneySmart Teaching program and to access resources, visit the MoneySmart Teaching website. A list of MoneySmart trial schools is also on the website.
21 February 2013
Background
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC's) MoneySmart Teaching packages for primary and secondary schools are part of the $10 million Helping Our Kids Understand Finances (HOKUF) initiative to improve financial literacy in schools, announced by the Australian Government in August 2010. Resources for primary schools were launched in August 2012.
Through the HOKUF initiative, ASIC will deliver:
- face-to-face training for 6,000 teachers linked to the Australian Curriculum;
- an online suite of teacher training modules linked to the Australian Curriculum so every teacher has ready access to the materials they need to deliver financial literacy education; and
- online digital resources for teachers, like interactive whiteboard activities and online educational games.