719555

research-article2017
CSE0010.1177/2047173417719555Citizenship, Social and Economics EducationAmagir et al.

Thematic Review

Citizenship, Social and

A review of financial-literacy Economics Education

2018, Vol. 17(1) 56­–80
© The Author(s) 2017
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children and adolescents

DOI: 10.1177/2047173417719555
https://doi.org/10.1177/2047173417719555
journals.sagepub.com/home/cse

Aisa Amagir
Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands

Wim Groot
Maastricht University, The Netherlands

Henriëtte Maassen van den Brink

University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Arie Wilschut
Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands

Abstract
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.

Keywords
financial literacy, school-based financial education, pedagogical characteristics, review

Corresponding author:
Aisa Amagir, Centre for Applied Research in Education (CARE), Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Postbus
1025, 1000 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Email: [email protected]
Amagir et al. 57

Background
In an increasingly complex society, financial literacy is widely seen as essential, and therefore as
an indispensable part of education (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD), 2014). This is in line with the development of educational curricula that focus on the
development of active citizenship. Citizenship implies independence, freedom and responsibility,
including in financial matters. Therefore, “economic citizenship” is an important aspect of citizen-
ship that, so far, has not received much attention in citizenship education curricula. Children and
adolescents can only realize their full potential as citizens if they are financially empowered and
capable; the buildings blocks in this respect are financial education, social education, and financial
inclusion (CYFI, 2013).
Hastings et al. (2013) associate low financial literacy with negative credit behaviors such as
debt accumulation, high-cost borrowing, poor mortgage choice, mortgage delinquency, and home
foreclosure. A recent study shows that about one in six households in a developed economy like the
Netherlands either have problematic debts or run a high risk of developing such debts (Kerckhaert
and de Ruig, 2013). According to Van Dam et al. (2014), the economic crisis has played a role in
the growth of the debt problem. However, it is increasingly recognized that irresponsible financial
behavior and poor financial skills are major causes of the emergence of debts, not only among
adults, but also among youngsters, who are a particularly vulnerable group. To cite another exam-
ple from the Netherlands: the proportion of adolescents under 26 who are in debt and requesting
debt counseling has been growing from 9 percent in 2008 to 15 percent in 2013 (Madern, 2014),
while 42% of 18- to 24-year-olds have at least one form of debt, loan or payment arrears. However,
only 28% of 18- to 24-year-olds with payment arrears are aware of the fact that they have a finan-
cial problem (Van der Schors and Van der Werf, 2014). Financial debts create substantial costs and
loss of well-being, not only for the debtors, but also for society as a whole. Although not all debts
are problematic (e.g. students loan debt create possibilities for future careers), many debts can be
detrimental to society, for example, direct losses of income by banks, insurance companies or pub-
lic service corporations, and increased spending on social security, as well as indirect costs caused
by, for example, increased illness absence, drug addiction and child neglect in debtors households
(Madern, 2014).
Financial literacy can be seen as an investment in human capital, and can be helpful in the con-
text of decisions about pension, savings, mortgage, and other financial decisions (Lusardi and
Mitchell, 2014). Today’s young people are growing up in a society in which the financial landscape
is complex and the financial responsibilities of citizens are substantial. Financial education in
schools may help to meet these challenges. This raises the question, “What effective educational
approaches could improve the level of financial literacy?”
In the literature, the term “financial literacy” has commonly been used for knowledge of finan-
cial concepts and procedures, whereas “financial capability” has been utilized to indicate the skills
to apply this knowledge, and “financial inclusion” to indicate the opportunity to do so. The OECD
(2014) combines these three aspects in one unitary concept of financial literacy:

knowledge and understanding of financial concepts and risks, and the skills, motivation and confidence to
apply such knowledge and understanding in order to make effective decisions across a range of financial
contexts, to improve the financial well-being of individuals and society, and to enable participation in
economic life. (p. 33)

Financial literacy defined in this way refers to ways in which individuals understand, manage,
and plan their personal finances. The core of the domain of financial literacy is personal finances
58 Citizenship, Social and Economics Education 17(1)

that can support financial well-being: a situation in which personal finances are a means to achieve
and maintain a desired standard of living.
Financial education can be defined as teaching which is intended to lead to financial literacy in
the wider sense indicated by the OECD (2014). The ultimate goal of financial education is to
empower and motivate people to change their financial behavior, for example, to induce them to
make well-considered financial decisions. Therefore, we distinguish three components in our defi-
nition of financial literacy:

1. Knowledge and understanding. To know how to behave, it is necessary to be informed

adequately about the domain referring to the intended behavior. However, the effect of
knowledge on changes in behavior is relatively limited (Hilgert et al., 2003; Perry and
Morris, 2005). Therefore, two other aspects must be taken into account.
2. Skills and behavior. To be able to change one’s behavior, it is necessary to master the opera-
tional skills which refer to the domain, for example, how to deal with budgeting.
3. Attitudes and confidence. To be able to apply something outside the context in which it has
been learnt, it is necessary to have self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997, 2006), and develop the
necessary motivation in order to do so.

In sum, our definition comprises knowing what to do, the skills to be able to perform these
actions, and the inclination to carry them out.
In this study, we look at interventions aimed at developing financial literacy among children and
adolescents. Our review addresses the following question, “To what extent can financial education
in schools improve the financial literacy of children and adolescents and enhance their capabilities
as economic citizens?” The objectives of this review are as follows: (1) to describe the extent to
which the empirical literature provides evidence on the effectiveness of financial education pro-
grams for children and adolescents and (2) to describe the key characteristics of the pedagogical
design of successful financial education programs.
Recently, two peer-reviewed literature reviews have been published that primarily focus on
promoting financial literacy of children and adolescents by means of financial education
(McCormick, 2009; Totenhagen et al., 2015). Other reviews focus primarily on financial education
among adults (Fox et al., 2005; Gale and Levine, 2011; Hastings et al., 2013; Hathaway and
Khatiwada, 2008). A meta-analysis of the studies among adults and adolescents has been per-
formed by Miller et al. (2014) and Fernandes et al. (2014). To date, review of the effects of pro-
grams that are exclusively aimed at children and adolescents and at all the components of our
definition of financial literacy is lacking now. The current study attempts to fill this gap, as it
examines the international evidence about the pedagogical design characteristics of effective finan-
cial education programs.

Method
Literature search strategy
To be thorough in the reporting of our systematic review, we used the checklist and the flow chart
from Prisma (Moher et al., 2009) shown in Figure 1. We undertook an exhaustive search of the
literature on financial literacy and financial education programs or interventions in schools which
involved children and adolescents. The first step comprised a database search in ERIC, Business
Source Premier, Econlit and Web of Science, using different combinations of the following key-
words: financial-literacy education, financial education in schools, financial education for youth,
Amagir et al. 59

Figure 1.  Flow chart.

and personal finance at school. In the second step, to counteract the effect of inadequate choice of
keywords, we searched the contents of the last five volumes of the Journal of Economic Education
and the International Review of Economic Education, and searched the reference lists in McCormick
(2009), Miller et al. (2014), and Totenhagen et al. (2015) for relevant studies (i.e. the snowball
method). This hand search did not result into any additional studies next to the ones already identi-
fied in the database search. Finally, we consulted experts on the OECD/INFE Conference on
Financial Resilience.1

Selection criteria
The evidence on the impact of financial education on knowledge, attitudes, confidence and behav-
ior among children and adolescents is relatively limited and recent. The majority of the studies
were published less than 10 years ago. In this review, we cover the research published between
2004 and 2015, with a special focus on studies that evaluate programs in elementary schools, junior
high schools and high schools. Furthermore, we include programs which aimed to increase the
financial literacy of college students during their first year of college. According to Shim et al.
(2010), this period constitutes an especially important transitional stage of development because
most college students are not yet financially independent but are actively learning the skills needed
60 Citizenship, Social and Economics Education 17(1)

Table 1.  Inclusion/exclusion criteria.

Inclusion Exclusion
Target audience Elementary, junior (middle) high school, Financial education programs for
high school, and college students adults
Outcome measures Financial knowledge, skills, attitudes,  
of financial literacy confidence and/or behaviors
education
Design Experimental designs and reviews Studies that assess financial literacy
and studies that evaluate financial
education in general
Non-experimental designs
Period 2004–2015  
Language English  

to develop toward independence. We only include those studies that provide information about
specific financial education programs. We therefore exclude studies that evaluate the overall effec-
tiveness of financial education in general. Furthermore, we do not include studies that only assess
financial literacy without testing the effects of educational programs or interventions, because we
are interested in the effectivity of financial education programs, not in the general level of financial
literacy among the population. In Table 1, the inclusion/exclusion criteria are presented.
We focus primarily on peer-reviewed studies. Discussion papers, working papers, and research
reports were included only if they met our quality standards. As shown in Figure 1, we initially
screened 1138 articles, of which 878 articles were excluded in view of their titles and abstracts,
using the inclusion and exclusion criteria shown in Table 1. We assessed both the abstracts and the
full texts of 260 articles for eligibility. This resulted in a total of 60 articles being included in the
review. Of these, 36 articles describe the effects of financial education by means of empirical data.
Of the papers that used the same data set, we only included the papers that presented the most
complete data. We analyzed each study by using the following characteristics: sample size, target
audience, research design, content of the intervention, length of the intervention, outcomes of the
programs, gender differences, and pedagogical characteristics of the program. We also checked the
effect sizes (Cohen’s d) in studies that used a control group. If the authors did not, or could not,
provide the required statistics to calculate the effect size (in some cases, we have asked authors for
extra data beyond those that were reported in their articles in order to be able to calculate effect
sizes ourselves), we only registered whether there was a statistically significant effect.

Contents of school-based financial-literacy education programs

As shown in Table 2, knowledge and understanding of planning and budgeting, earning an income
and careers, saving and investing, spending and credit, and insurance and banking services are the
core elements of financial education programs across different educational levels. Financial educa-
tion programs in elementary schools primarily focus on planning and budgeting, saving, spending,
and credit concepts. A few programs look at concepts regarding investment and banking services.
In secondary schools, the majority of the financial education programs aim at spending and credit,
saving and investment, and budgeting concepts. A few programs look at banking services, insur-
ance, income, and careers. Financial education programs in college focus mainly on issues regard-
ing budgeting, credit card use, and compulsive spending decisions. The financial education
programs in this review revealed no fundamental differences in concepts across countries.
 Amagir et al.

Table 2.  Contents of financial education programs.

Author Program and country Content

Planning and Banking Income and Insurance Investing Saving Spending

budgeting services careers and credit
Anderson and Card (2015) USA X
Asarta et al. (2014) “Keys To Financial Success,” USA X X X X X X X
Batty et al. (2015), Butt et al. Financial Fitness For Life (FFFL), USA X X X X X X X
(2008), Harter and Harter (2009)
and Smith et al. (2011)
Becchetti and Pisani (2012) Italy X X X
Becchetti et al. (2013) Italy X  
Berry et al. (2015) Aflatoun and Honest Money Box X X X
(HMB), Ghana
Borden et al. (2008) Credit Wise Cats, USA X X X X
Bowen and Jones (2006) Commonwealth Credit Project, USA X
Bruhn et al. (2013) Brazil X X X X X X
Carlin and Robinson (2012) The Junior Achievement (JA) finance X X X X
park, USA
Collins et al. (2016) My Classroom Economy (MyCE), X X X
USA
Danes and Haberman (2007), and High School Financial Planning X X X X X X
Danes and Brewton (2014) Program (HSFPP), USA
Harter and Harter (2010) Learning from the market, USA X  
Hinojosa et al. (2010) Stock Market Game (SMG), USA X X  
61
 62

Table 2. (Continued)

Author Program and country Content

Planning and Banking Income and Insurance Investing Saving Spending

budgeting services careers and credit
Hospido et al. (2015) Banco de España and the Comisión X X X X
Nacional del Mercado de Valores
(BdE-CNMV) Program, Spain
Lührmann et al. (2015) My Finance Coach, Germany X X X
Mandell (2006, 2009) USA X  
Mandell and Klein (2009) USA n/a  
Maurer and Lee (2011) USA X X
O’Neil-Haight (2010) It’s A Habit!, USA X X
Posnanski et al. (2007) and Schug Milwaukee Urban League Academy of X X  
and Hagedorn (2004) Business and Economics (MULABE),
USA
Romagnoli and Trifilidis (2013) Italy X X X
Roos et al. (2005) South-Africa X X X
Schug and Hagedorn (2005) The Money Savvy Kids, USA X X X
Schug and Hagedorn (2006) Youth Enterprise Academy (YEA), X X X
USA
Niederjohn and Schug (2006) Learning, earning and investing, USA X X  
Sherraden et al. (2007, 2011) I Can Save (ICS), USA X X X X X
Varcoe et al. (2005) Money Talks: Should I be listening? X X X
USA
Walstad et al. (2010) Financing Your Future, USA X X X X X
Citizenship, Social and Economics Education 17(1)
Amagir et al. 63

Skills or (meta) cognitive strategies are necessary to gain and apply financial knowledge, in order
to effectively manage one’s finances. Our review of the material on different financial education
programs yielded four categories. The first category is concerned with making thoughtful, well-
informed financial decisions both in the long and short run (Asarta et al., 2014; Batty et al., 2015;
Bruhn et al., 2013; Butt et al., 2008; Collins et al., 2016; Danes and Brewton, 2014; Danes and
Haberman, 2007; Harter and Harter, 2009; Hospido et al., 2015; Lührmann et al., 2015; Smith et al.,
2011). To ensure students’ financial well-being, it is necessary to build up attitudes, optimism, self-
confidence, and perseverance in financial decision making (Bruhn et al., 2013; Danes et al., 2007,
2014). As an example, The Council for Economic Education’s Financial Fitness For Life (FFFL)
curriculum aims at helping students make thoughtful, well-informed decisions by using the “eco-
nomic way of thinking” (Batty et al., 2015; Butt et al., 2008; Harter and Harter, 2009; Smith et al.,
2011). To help students be confident about their future and form positive expectations for the future,
the FFFL material is oriented toward the future. The FFFL curriculum also aims at developing strate-
gies to accomplish good habits and practical skills that pay off in both the short and long run. The
content of this curriculum is based on national and state standards regarding economics, personal
finance, mathematics, and language arts. The instructional materials have been adapted to different
age groups ranging from Kindergarten to Grade 12. One of the strong points of the FFFL program is
that valid tests have been developed to measure students’ knowledge and understanding of personal
finance concepts. The FFFL test does not assess financial attitudes and behavior. Another example is
a program in Brazil that aims to help students make responsible financial choices and the capacity to
plan finances, which involves long-term budgeting, cost-benefit analyses, financial prudence, and
spending discipline (Bruhn et al., 2013). “My Finance Coach,” a German program, aims at consump-
tion and (intertemporal) planning, and savings and investment choices (Lührmann et al., 2015).
The second category aims to reinforce student’s transferable skills. Cormier and Hagman (1987)
indicate that such transfer takes place when prior learned knowledge and skills affect the way in
which new knowledge and skills are learned and performed. A competency-based curriculum
(High School Financial Planning Program) for Grades 8–12 is one of the few programs that aims
at building students’ confidence to make well-considered financial decisions, as well as developing
their transferable skills (Danes et al., 2007, 2014).
The third category concerns investing in one’s own human capital, specifically by teaching
students how to earn, manage, and save money, and build aspirations and expectations for post-
secondary education and training (Berry et al., 2015; Schug and Hagedorn, 2006; Sherraden et al.,
2007, 2011; Varcoe et al., 2005; Walstad et al., 2010). Programs like the “Aflatoun Program” and
“Honest Money Box” (HMB) that, among other things, are concerned with investing in one’s own
human capital are especially important for underdeveloped countries where children and their par-
ents often do not have access to financial services. The “Aflatoun Program”, which bears the name
of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato in Arabic, combines a savings program with social educa-
tion components for children aged 3–18 years executed in 116 countries. “Aflatoun” focusses on
personal exploration and children’s rights and responsibilities, while also highlighting the pitfalls
of child labor, such as forgoing school to work and the risk of dangerous working conditions. The
HMB curriculum strictly aims at financial education. Both “Aflatoun” and HMB continue as sav-
ings clubs after completion of the curriculum (Berry et al., 2015). Finally, the fourth category is
concerned with problem-solving skills. Programs like the FFFL (Batty et al., 2015; Butt et al.,
2008; Harter and Harter, 2009; Smith et al., 2011), Aflatoun (Berry et al., 2015) and the Milwaukee
Urban League Academy of Business and Economics (MULABE) highlight this skill. MULABE
schools offer a customized economic and personal finance curriculum (about one-third of the
school curriculum) with the aim of teaching students basic skills such as banking, personal budget-
ing, and problem-solving, as well as more advanced business and finance skills (Posnanski et al.,
2007; Schug and Hagedorn, 2004).
64 Citizenship, Social and Economics Education 17(1)

Table 3.  Number of studies reporting positive effects by methodological design and aspects of financial
literacy (n = 36).

Method Outcome RCT Quasi Quasi-NC Total short-term Long-term

outcomes
Financial Self-reported 0 (n = 1) 1 (n = 1) 4 (n = 4) 83.33% (n = 6) 1 (n = 1)
knowledge Assessed 6 (n = 7) 8 (n = 9) 11 (n = 11) 92.59% (n = 27) 2 (n = 3)
Financial Self-reported 2 (n = 3) 2 (n = 2) 4 (n = 5) 80% (n = 10) 1 (n = 1)
behavior Assessed actual 1 (n = 2) 0 (n = 2) (n = 0) 25% (n = 4) 1 (n = 2)
Intentions 1 (n = 1) 0 (n = 1) 3 (n = 3) 80% (n = 5) 1 (n = 1)
Attitudes and Attitudes 4 (n = 6) 1 (n = 1) 8 (n = 9) 81.25% (n = 16) 1 (n = 2)
confidence Confidence 0 (n = 1) (n = 0) 2 (n = 2) 66.67% (n = 3) 1 (n = 1)

(n) refers to the total number of studies that assess the outcome; % of studies that found significant effects; randomized
control trial (RCT), quasi-experimental with control group (Quasi), quasi-experimental with no control group (Quasi-
NC).

Effectiveness of school-based financial-literacy education programs

Studies which assess the outcomes of financial-literacy education may report effects on financial
knowledge, financial behavior, attitudes, and/or confidence. The majority of studies in our review
cover multiple outcomes, others concentrate on either financial knowledge or financial behavior.
To our knowledge, there are no studies which exclusively assess attitudes or confidence; these
outcomes are only assessed in relation to financial knowledge or financial behavior. Studies which
assess financial knowledge mostly use a personal finance test about knowledge and understanding,
besides self-reported-data. Studies which assess financial behavior can be split up into three cate-
gories. The first category comprises studies which assess behavior based on self-reported data. The
second category investigates assessed behavior (actual), mostly savings behavior. The third cate-
gory assesses the intention to deploy good financial behavior.
As shown in Table 3, the majority of experimental studies in primary schools, secondary schools
and colleges (27 out of 36) assesses financial knowledge with the help of a personal finance test,
of which 25 found short-term positive effects. From the seven studies using randomized control
groups and nine using a quasi-experimental design, all but one in each category found positive
knowledge effects. Five out of six studies that are based on self-reported knowledge report positive
effects. Five studies assess the intention to practice sound financial behavior, of which four report
positive effects. Ten studies assess self-reported behavior, of which eight found positive effects.
Studies assessing behavior (mostly savings) are scarce (n = 4), and show hardly any effects (one out
of four). In 16 out of 36 studies, financial attitudes are dealt with besides other outcomes, of which
13 found positive effects. Only three out of 36 studies focus on confidence in combination with
other outcomes. A few studies (n = 3) assess the long-term effects (after 1 year, 1.5 years, or 5 years)
of financial education programs with a specific curriculum. The effects of these programs on
knowledge and behavior are mixed (Batty et al., 2015; Bruhn et al., 2013; Mandell, 2009).
Describing the extent to which the literature provides evidence on the effectiveness of financial
education programs is challenging because programs differ in many ways making a comparison
almost impossible. We tried to overcome this problem by focusing on whether the participants
achieved the intended learning outcomes (knowledge, behavior, and attitude). In the next section,
we present a further elaboration of the effects of school-based financial education interventions
and programs for children and adolescents at different educational levels. In each section, we dis-
tinguish studies using the three components of our definition of financial literacy: financial knowl-
edge, financial behavior, and financial attitudes or confidence.
Amagir et al. 65

Effectiveness of school-based financial-literacy education programs in primary

schools
In Table 4, we present a summary of the effects of eight financial education programs in primary
schools. These programs mainly found positive effects on financial knowledge and attitudes. The
length of the intervention varies from 1 week to 4 years. With the data available, we cannot con-
clude that longer intervention periods result in better performances in children’s financial knowl-
edge and attitudes. Furthermore, we see no major differences between programs that are integrated
into existing curricula (Batty et al., 2015; Collins et al., 2016; O’Neil-Haight, 2010; Roos et al.,
2005) and stand-alone classes (Schug and Hagedorn, 2005; Sherraden et al., 2007, 2011), with the
exception of Berry et al. (2015), who found no gains in financial knowledge and attitudes. If we
look at the four studies which have a control group, three reported a significant effect in financial
knowledge and attitudes. The two effect sizes reported vary between no effect (0.13) and large
effect (0.77). Conclusions about the effects of financial education on savings behavior are difficult
to make, because the results are diverse in this respect. This may be due to the differences in how
savings behavior is measured. For example, Berry et al. (2015) measured actual savings behavior
through a locked savings box and Sherraden et al. (2007, 2011) measured savings behavior through
data that is collected during the ICS club. Self-reported savings behavior is measured by general
questions like “If you have a savings account, about how much money do you think is currently in
the account?” (Batty et al., 2015).

Effectiveness of school-based financial-literacy education programs in secondary

schools
As shown in Table 5, the majority of experimental studies (20 out of 24) used a personal finance
test to assess the impact of financial education programs in secondary schools on students’ knowl-
edge and understanding of concepts. With the exception of Lührmann et al. (2015) and Becchetti
et al. (2013), all of the studies found positive effects in assessed financial knowledge. The effects
are similar in those studies that used a comparison group; 11 out of 13 found positive effects. All
of the studies in this literature review that assessed self-reported financial knowledge found posi-
tive effects (Danes and Brewton, 2014; Danes and Haberman, 2007; Lührmann et al., 2015; Varcoe
et al., 2005).
On the other hand, studies that assess student’s financial knowledge differ in effect sizes. Factors
that possibly influence these outcomes are the program design and gender. As an example, studies
which assess the impact of the FFFL curriculum on students’ knowledge and understanding of
personal finance concepts all found positive effects (Butt et al., 2008; Harter and Harter, 2009;
Smith et al., 2011). The effect sizes in a study that used a shorter intervention (8 lessons) to teach
the FFFL curriculum were small (d = 0.221; 0.267) (Harter and Harter, 2009) compared with a
study by Butt et al. (2008) who assessed 17 lessons from the FFFL curriculum and showed a mod-
erate positive effect in year 1 (d = 0.505) and year 2 (d = 0.561). Hospido et al. (2015), who assessed
a short financial education program in Spain of 10 hours, showed a small effect size of 0.286, an
improvement of one-third of a standard deviation in students’ financial knowledge. These out-
comes possible indicate that a longer intervention may lead to larger effects. In contrast, an inten-
sive program in Brazil (between 72 and 144 hours in 1.5 years) resulted into a significant but small
improvement of students’ knowledge levels (d = 0.25). The MULABE program, which is also long
and intensive, resulted in considerable effects on basic economic knowledge (d = 0.981) and per-
sonal finance (d = 1.020) (Schug and Hagedorn, 2004). These results show that financial education
when delivered over a significant period of time can be effective. No overall conclusions can be
 66
Table 4.  Characteristics and outcomes of studies that assess financial education programs in elementary schools (n = 8).

Target N Design Length of program Program Outcomes

audience
  Financial Financial behavior Attitudes or
knowledge gains gains confidence gains
Batty et al. Grade 4 700 RCT Five weekly lessons of FFFL Yes (assessed) No (self- Yes, in attitudes
(2015) and 5 approximately 45 minutes (0.77), also after reported)
USA a year
Collins et al. Grade 4 2115 (1293 RCT 10 weeks MyCE Yes (assessed) Yes (self- Yes, in attitudes
(2016) and 5 T, 822 C) reported)
USA
Berry et al. Grades 5–7 135 schools RCT HMB curriculum: 8 hours and Aflatoun and No (self- Yes (assessed No
(2015) (average of Aflatoun curriculum: 24 hours HMB reported) savings)
Ghana 40 students Cohen’s d:
per school) Aflatoun = 0.078
HMB = 0.048
O’Neil-Haight Pre-K -fifth 5831 Quasi-NC Approximately 16 hours It’s A Habit! Yes (self- Yes, in attitudes
(2010) grade reported)
USA
Roos et al. 4.5– 23 Quasi-NC One week Yes (assessed)  
(2005) South- 6.5 years
Africa
Sherraden et al. Group 1 149 Multi- Four years: Once a week: ICS Yes (self- Yes (assessed Yes, confidence
(2007) and 2 method, “after school Club” and one reported) savings) gains
USA NC classroom lesson
Sherraden et al. Grade 4 108 Quasi Four years. Once a week: ICS Yes (assessed) No (assessed  
(2011) “after school club” and one (0.13) savings)
USA half-hour classroom lesson
Schug and Grade 2 316 Quasi-NC Eight lessons The Money Yes (seven out Yes, in attitudes
Hagedorn and 3 Savvy Kids of 10 items)
(2005)
USA

We qualified the (calculated) effect sizes as: small (Cohen’s d ⩾ 0.20 and <0.50), medium (Cohen’s d ⩾ 0.50 and <0.80), and large (Cohen’s d ⩾ 0.80) (Cohen, 1988).
Citizenship, Social and Economics Education 17(1)
Table 5.  Characteristics and outcomes of studies that assess financial education programs in secondary schools (n = 24).
Authors Target N Design Length of program Program Outcomes
Amagir et al.

audience
Financial knowledge Financial behavior Attitude or
gains gains Confidence
gains

Asarta et al. 15–19 years 967 Quasi-NC Semester, 52 lessons Keys To Yes (assessed)  
(2014) Financial
USA Success
Becchetti and Final year of 3820 RCT 16-hour extra- Yes (assessed)  
Pisani (2012) high school curricular course for 3
Italy months.
Becchetti et al. Final year of 944 RCT 16-hour course of No effect No gain in
(2013) high school 3 months attitudes
Italy
Bruhn et al. 15–17 years 20000 RCT Three academic Yes overall Yes overall Yes, in
(2013) semesters. Material Short-term Assessed Short-term and long- attitudes
Brazil for between 72 and (0.25) term Short-term
144 hours of teaching Long-term Assessed: Intention to save and long-
(1–2 hours per case (0.20) Self-reported term
study) purchasing and
spending behavior
Butt et al. (2008) Grade 7 Year 1: 624 T, 94 Quasi 17 lessons FFFL Yes (assessed) Year  
USA (Urban) C) (Year 2: 1031 T, 1 (0.505)
104 C Year 2 (0.561)
(total: 1853)
Carlin and 13–19 years 393 Quasi 19 hours of instruction JA finance Yes (self-reported)  
Robinson (2012) park
USA
Danes and Juniors and 5329 Quasi, (NC) A minimum of 10 HSFPP Yes (self-reported) Yes (self-reported) Yes, in both
Haberman (2007) seniors classroom hours.
USA Varies from a 2- or
3- week period to a
semester
67
Table 5. (Continued)
68

Authors Target N Design Length of program Program Outcomes

audience
Financial knowledge Financial behavior Attitude or
gains gains Confidence
gains

Danes and High-school 4794 Quasi, (NC) Minimum of ten hours HSFPP Yes (self-reported) Yes (self-reported)  
Brewton (2014)
USA
Harter and Harter Upper 2438 Quasi Semester. Eight lessons FFFL Yes (assessed)  
(2009) USA elementary, for each group Elementary mail
middle and high (0.555)
school Middle school
(0.221)
High school (0.267)
Harter and Harter High school ±730 Quasi Semester SMG and Yes (assessed)  
(2010) USA (395 T, 335 C) Learning from (0.79)
the Market
Hinojosa et al. Grades 4–10 Mathematics: 509 RCT A 10 or 15-week game SMG Mathematics: grades  
(2010) USA classrooms 4–6: 0.25 grades
(265 T, 244 C) 7–10: 0.17
knowledge: 522 Student investor
classrooms (269 T knowledge:
253 C) grades 4–5: 0.43
grades 6–8: 0.45
grades 9–10: 0.39
Hospido et al. 9th grade 1,223 (981 T, 242 C) Quasi 10-hours course BdE-CNMV Yes (assessed)  
(2015) Spain (Urban) (0.286)

Lührmann et al. 13–15 years 636 Quasi 3 × 90 min training My Finance Self-reported Yes No increase in Yes, in
(2015) Germany (low-stream (521 T 115 C) modules coach (0.177) savings attitudes
of high- Assessed No intention to (0.166)
school) - overall no effect save (0.0151)
(0.080) except
for risk concepts
(0.081)
Mandell (2006) Grade 6–8 96 Quasi-NC Attendance of a play Yes (assessed) No (self-reported) Yes, in
USA attitudes
Citizenship, Social and Economics Education 17(1)

(Continued)
Table 5. (Continued)

Authors Target N Design Length of program Program Outcomes

audience
Financial knowledge Financial behavior Attitude or
Amagir et al.

gains gains Confidence

gains

Mandell (2009) Grade 5–9 1279 RCT Attendance of a play Yes (assessed) No (assessed) Yes, in
USA (956 T 323 C) and a week of related attitudes
classroom teaching
Mandell and Klein Follows 79 Longitudinal Semester No effect No effect on No gain in
(2009) USA graduates for experiment subsequent financial attitudes
the first five behavior.
years after
graduation
Posnanski et al. fifth and sixth 182 (120 T, 62 C) Quasi On a daily basis MULABE Yes (assessed)  
(2007) USA grade (urban throughout
city area) the school year
Romagnoli and Grades 4, 5, 7, 16687 Quasi-NC Two years Yes (assessed)  
Trifilidis (2013) 8, 12 and, 13
Italy
Schug and Grade 6 109 (43 T, 66 C) Quasi On a daily basis MULABE Yes (assessed)  
Hagedorn (2004) throughout the school Personal finance test
USA year (1.020)
Basic Economics
Test (.981)
Schug and Grades 9–12 198 (25 a year) Quasi-NC Ten-day summer YEA Yes (assessed)  
Hagedorn (2006) (Urban) program
USA
Niederjohn and High school 496 Quasi-NC Learning, Yes (assessed) Yes in
Schug (2006) USA Earning attitudes
and Investing
Smith et al. (2011) Grade 6–8 160 Quasi-NC One class period, for a FFFL Yes (assessed) No gain in
USA total of 30 hours attitudes
Varcoe et al. 13–20 years 114 Quasi-NC Four newsletters: all Money Talks: Yes (self-reported) Yes(self-reported) Yes, in
(2005) USA the lessons in one Should I Be attitudes
week or once a week Listening?
a lesson
Walstad et al. 800 (673 T, 127 C) Quasi Six hours spread over Financing Yes (assessed)  
(2010) USA a two- to four week Your Future (1.021)
69

period
70 Citizenship, Social and Economics Education 17(1)

drawn about the relationship between the length of the intervention and the effect size; the results
are equivocal. Furthermore, we see no major differences in results between stand-alone programs
and programs that are integrated into existing curricula. On the other hand, we do see differences
in effect sizes of playing the Stock Market Game, with or without content lessons: small effects in
students’ financial knowledge without lessons, ranging from 0.39 to 0.45 (Hinojosa et al., 2010),
and a larger effect (d = 0.79) when combined with seven content lessons (Harter and Harter, 2010).
As shown in Table 5, in 10 out of 24 studies, financial attitudes are dealt with together with other
outcomes, of which seven found significant positive effects (Bruhn et al., 2013; Danes and
Haberman, 2007; Lührmann et al., 2015; Mandell, 2006, 2009; Niederjohn and Schug, 2006).
Becchetti et al. (2013) reported no significant effects in investment attitudes, and Smith et al.
(2011) found no effects in students’ attitudes to the future. Studies that used a control group found
similar effects in financial attitudes; four out of nine studies used a control group, of which three
found positive effects. Only one study reported an effect size (d = 0.166).
Studies on the impact of financial education programs on student’s financial behavior show
diverse results. One out of two studies found positive effects in the intention to save, and five out
of six studies found positive effects in self-reported behavior. On the contrary, no effects were
found in assessed financial behavior (n = 2).
A few studies assess the long-term effects of specific financial education programs. Bruhn et al.
(2013) looked at the long-term impact of the program, 18 months after the start of the program, and
found small effects in knowledge (d = 0.20), behavior (self-reported and intentions) and attitudes.
On the other hand, Mandell (2009), who performed a longitudinal study, found no lasting effects
on students’ knowledge, savings behavior, and attitudes toward savings or “thrift” in the post-high
school years. Non-experimental studies that identify the effects of state-mandated or optional per-
sonal finance programs in high school on later behavior as an adult have found mixed evidence
(Bernheim et al., 2001; Cole et al., 2015; Peng et al., 2007).
A few studies report gender differences among adolescents in all three dimensions of financial
literacy. Danes and Haberman (2007) showed that the scores for both genders increased after the
study (HSFPP) of several concepts, but males outperformed females. Because of the program,
female teens learned significantly more about finances in areas with which they were unfamiliar
prior to the program than the males. Furthermore, male teens were confident about making money
decisions, and their confidence scores remained higher than those of female teens after the comple-
tion of the program. By contrast, female teens increased their confidence about making financial
decisions to a larger degree than males. Female teens were also more likely to believe that manag-
ing money affected their future before completing the program, and this difference continued to
exist after completion. Looking at the behavior outcome, males reported achieving financial goals
better than females, whereas females reported using budgets, comparing prices, and discussing
money matters with family more than males. Danes and Brewton (2014) add that female students
who did not grow up in a farming family business and were not employed acquired most (self-
reported) knowledge from the HSFPP. Females reported that they gained in three types of financial
behavior compared with males: protecting personal information from being stolen, making savings
goals, and tracking spending. Lührmann et al. (2015) report that in the pre-test, girls showed lower
interest in financial matters, lower self-reported knowledge, and were less likely to save.
Furthermore, in the post-test, they found no evidence that girls are affected by financial education
training any differently from boys, with the exception that self-reported knowledge increased less
for girls than boys. Other studies of financial education programs have reported gender differences
in financial knowledge. Romagnoli and Trifilidis (2013) showed that in the pre-test, boys had
slightly higher levels of financial knowledge than girls in primary and junior high school. However,
after the financial education training, the gender gap was significant only among junior high school
Amagir et al. 71

students, and girls outperformed boys. Becchetti et al. (2013) found a lower level of financial
knowledge among girls in the pre-test, but, after the training, girls had a greater level of progress
compared with boys. Mandell (2006) however, found that females had more knowledge in the pre-
test and learned more from the intervention (seeing a play about savings) than males did. Varcoe
et al. (2005) showed that males significantly had a greater increase in financial knowledge after
completing the financial education program. Females reported talking to their families about
money matters more often than males, but the extent of talking to their families about money did
not change significantly after completing the program. These gender differences in financial liter-
acy levels between studies may be due to the context in which the study is conducted. Cultural
differences between countries’ can affect the financial literacy levels.
With the exception of Mandell (2006), all of the studies reviewed above indicate that at pre-test,
the financial literacy levels are low for adolescent females, and that financial education programs
can reduce the gender gap.

Effectiveness of school-based financial-literacy education programs in college

As shown in Table 6, financial education programs in college (n = 4) all showed positive effects on
students’ understanding of concepts, and on their intention to engage in responsible credit card use,
better budgeting, and fewer compulsive spending decisions, as well as developing more positive
attitudes in these respects. If we look at the effect sizes, Anderson and Card (2015) show small
effects in student’s self-perceived financial behavior (0.338; 0.343). Furthermore, conclusions
about assessed actual behavior of college students must be made with caution, because the studies
use only self-reported data about intention and attitudes to engage in effective financial behavior.
Furthermore, the studies use mainly small non-randomized groups with no control groups.
In college, there also seems to be a gender gap in attitudes and spending behavior, in favor of
males. In the study of Anderson and Card (2015), there is an indication that women in the pre-test
may have a higher propensity to compulsively spend than men. Financial education for first-year
college students has an effect on students’ perception of their financial behavior regarding compul-
sive spending decisions.

The design of a financial-education program: What is effective?

A variety of methods and materials are being used in different financial education programs around
the world. There is a shift from a traditional subject-matter-based approach to a skills-based
approach, in which the student learns the skills by doing, as opposed to the “chalk and talk” model
in which the student is often passive. In this section, we describe what are the most effective peda-
gogical methods of teaching financial literacy in primary school, secondary school, and college. In
the description, we primarily focus on programs that report the effect sizes.
In primary schools, several effective financial education programs have integrated “experiential
learning” in their curriculum (Batty et al., 2015; Collins et al., 2016; Roos et al., 2005). An example
of this approach is My Classroom Economy (MyCE) where students actively participate in a “sim-
ulated micro-economy” in which students earn “school dollars” that they can use to rent their own
desks. In this way, students experience the impact of their decisions without their teachers teaching
specific financial content. Collins et al. (2016) evaluated MyCE and found that students who par-
ticipated in the MyCE had 6% higher scores in financial knowledge than the control group. Another
program that uses hands-on activities to reinforce students’ understanding through application and
practice, and addresses concepts in a developmental appropriate manner is the FFFL curriculum.
The FFFL material uses various teaching methods like role playing, group discussions, gathering
 72

Table 6.  Characteristics and outcomes of studies that assess financial education programs in college (n = 4).

Authors Target audience N Design Length of Program Program Outcomes

Financial Financial behavior Attitude

knowledge gains and
gains confidence
gains
Anderson and First-year 502 Quasi Social media group: Yes (perception)  
Card (2015) undergraduate one semester. - Social media
USA students. Lecture group: one group (0.338)
presentation - Lecture group
(0.343)
Borden et al. College students, 93 Quasi-NC Seminar of one, and Credit Wise Cats Yes (assessed) Yes (intentions) Yes, in
(2008) USA 20 years old on one-and-a-half our attitudes
average
Bowen and College freshmen 59 Quasi-NC Two sessions CCP Yes (9 out Yes (self-reported Yes, in
Jones (2006) and sophomores of 11 items) and intentions) both
USA (assessed)
Maurer and Undergraduate Traditional Quasi-NC, Semester-long course Family Yes (assessed) Yes (intentions)  
Lee (2011) students course = 78 comparison (5 × 75 minutes) or a economics
USA Peer-led two groups one- hour peer-led course and peer
sessions = 149 session -led session
Citizenship, Social and Economics Education 17(1)
Amagir et al. 73

information from the Internet, reading materials, interviewing individuals, drawing pictures, and
analyzing case problems. Furthermore, the FFFL materials are complemented with a parent guide
for each grade level, with activities that reinforce and extend children’s understanding in personal
finance. Batty et al. (2015) who assessed the FFFL curriculum found students significantly gained
large positive effects (gain of 11%) in financial knowledge (d = 0.77), even after a year. This is
more than the study of Collins et al. (2016), but MyCE is imbedded in other classroom activities,
and therefore requires no formal instruction time. Harter and Harter (2009) who also assessed the
FFFL curriculum found moderate effects of 0.555. This suggests that “experiential learning” with
a variety of teaching methods yields the largest effects in the increase of students’ financial knowl-
edge. A form of “experiential learning” that is effective in increasing students’ financial knowl-
edge, but with a negligible effect (d = 0.13) is the school-based savings programs (Sherraden et al.,
2011). In a school-based financial education and savings program, “ICS,” children have an oppor-
tunity to apply what they are learning in a real world setting. The lessons could be relevant and
motivating, which in turn can lead to a better understanding of personal finance and decision mak-
ing (Sherraden et al., 2007, 2011).
Financial education programs in secondary schools also have elements of “experiential learn-
ing,” with an emphasis on the “relevance of the topic” in order to motivate students. Mandell and
Klein (2009) indicate that the design of a financial education program should take into account the
provision of interactive teaching methods, from visual lessons to (simulation) games, in which
students actively participate in the learning process. The “Stock Market Game” is an effective form
of “experiential learning,” wherein students are actively learning in a simulation. Teams of stu-
dents manage real-time virtual investments. They use research and program-provided news updates
to invest a hypothetical $100,000 in stocks, which simulates the results of their investments as
though they were being made in the real marketplace. During these sessions, students compete
with teams in their classroom and teams in their states to increase the value of their portfolio
(Hinojosa et al., 2010). Harter and Harter (2010) link the “Stock Market Game” with basic content
about the stock market in the form of lessons from “Learning from the Market.” Each lesson pays
careful attention to issues such as connection to the students’ prior learning, use of a variety of
learning styles, collaboration among students, and techniques to underscore the lesson goals. A
combination of playing the SMG with content lessons has proved to be effective (d = 0.79) in fur-
ther deepening the financial knowledge (Harter and Harter, 2010).
“Experiential learning” can make students aware of basic financial planning concepts and illus-
trates how these concepts apply to everyday life (Danes and Haberman, 2007). Varcoe et al. (2005)
point out that teens are naturally more interested in learning about the consumer and financial
issues which they perceive as salient in their lives at that particular time. Relevance can be achieved
through adding “real world experiences” to the lessons. Bruhn et al. (2013) uses interactive class-
room exercises, with themes that have meaning and relevance, as they deal with everyday matters
in which young people have to deal now or in the near future. The students also receive take-home
exercises, such as creating household budgets with parents, and role-playing assignments. Bruhn
et al. (2013) who assessed this program showed that parents were significantly more likely to
report that their children discussed financial matters with them at home, and that they volunteered
to help organize household budgets. The results showed a small (d = 0.25) and significant improve-
ment of the financial knowledge of students. Furthermore, there was a significant increase of 1.4
percentage points in the intention to save for purchases, and significant improvement in the budget-
ing capability and skills in negotiating prices and payment methods. There is also evidence that the
program affected students’ inter-temporal preferences and attitudes regarding current and future
financial decisions. Mandell and Klein (2007) indicate that most financial planning starts with an
analysis of goals, and therefore, it is important to take into account students’ perceptions of future
74 Citizenship, Social and Economics Education 17(1)

goals, for example, a college degree, a professional job, or a higher salary. This is in line with the
“Goal Setting Theory” of Locke and Latham (1994) which assumes that specific and challenging
goals lead to better performances. Furthermore, one has to be committed to the goal, must get
feedback, and must have the ability to perform the task. As an example, the FFFL material that is
effective in increasing student’s financial knowledge (d = 0.221; 0.267; 0.505; 0.561) works with
future-oriented thinking to help students to be confident about their future by providing tools which
enable them to think about future possibilities and form positive expectations for the future. This
approach seems especially important for students in urban areas and in underprivileged regions
(Butt et al., 2008; Harter and Harter, 2009; Smith et al., 2011). The “Financing Your Future” cur-
riculum uses five DVD’s, complemented with three printed lessons to reinforce the financial con-
cepts in the video that is concerned with investing in one’s own human capital (Walstad et al.,
2010). Walstad et al. (2010) found the “Financing Your Future” curriculum positively and signifi-
cantly influences the financial knowledge (d = 1.021) of senior high-school students. This study is
one of the few studies that describes a controlled and systematic assessment that evaluates at the
fourth tier (progress-toward-objectives) and fifth tier (program impact) of Jacobs’ (1988) five-tier
model of evaluation.
Financial education programs in college use mainly stand-alone sessions in the form of short
courses, seminars or presentations. As an example, programs that work with traditional lectures or
social media, have proven to be effective (d = 0.343; 0.338) in increasing the awareness of college
student’s perception regarding compulsive spending decisions (Anderson and Card, 2015).
Traditional lectures, but with a clear message and perspective with respect to techniques which
help to make responsible choices regarding credit card use (1), and to recognize and control com-
pulsive spending (2) increase awareness of college student’s perception regarding compulsive
spending decisions. This can also be achieved by a website where students can choose education
topics that are of interest to their current lifestyle including the exploration of financial implica-
tions when making a decision, as well as methods to cope with consequences of poor financial
choices. There is also a (Money Management) Facebook page where messages and discussion
items are posted to encourage students to control compulsive spending, and to make responsible
financial decisions (Anderson and Card, 2015). Specifically for college students, these goals are
important because of the many challenges they could be experiencing. It seems that a narrowly
defined financial education program that teaches the appropriate content can contribute to making
better financial decisions in specific “life events.” Furthermore, short and narrowly defined pro-
grams are appropriate to reach and motivate college students and affordable for college educators.
As college students experience more challenges with finances as they pay bills, use credit cards,
work more, consider savings, and manage student debt, these events could work as the fuel in the
learning process (Peng et al., 2007). Attitudes to and preferences concerning money are considered
an important element of financial literacy education. Atkinson and Messy (2012) argue that, if
people have a rather negative attitude, for example, toward saving for their future, they will be less
inclined to undertake such behavior. Similarly, if they prefer to prioritize short-term wants over
long-term security, then they are unlikely to provide themselves with emergency savings or to
make longer-term financial plans.

Theories of “Experiential Learning”

All of this is in line with theories of “Experiential Learning.” Dewey (1997 [1938]: 7) emphasizes,
“there is an intimate and necessary relation between the processes of actual experience and educa-
tion.” Dewey (1997 [1938]) further notes that, by focusing only on content, the teacher eliminates
the opportunity for students to develop their own opinions of concepts based on interaction with
Amagir et al. 75

the information. In this context, it is essential to reflect on what is experienced. Following this idea,
Kolb and Fry (1975) developed the “Experiential Learning Cycle” which involves a cycle of action
(concrete experience), reflection (and observation), conceptualization, and new experience
(Johnson and Sherraden, 2007). This approach seems particularly appropriate for financial educa-
tion, given the nature of financial decision making (Johnson and Sherraden, 2007). “Experiential
Learning” has the potential to engage students in topics of interest to them, and it provides oppor-
tunities to explore how financial concepts can be applied to real-world situations. To achieve com-
mitment and meaning in learning and achieve intrinsic motivation, it is important to fulfill the need
for “relatedness” (the need to have a close and friendly relationship with others), “autonomy,” and
“competence.” These three basic needs are part of the “Self-Determination Theory” (Deci and
Ryan, 1991). The “Self-Determination Theory,” as applied to financial-literacy education, is pri-
marily concerned with promoting students autonomy (or self-determination) and competence.
“Autonomy” implies having control of one’s own learning process. “Competence” is about the
feeling of being effective in the ongoing interaction with the social environment, and experiencing
the ability to exploit one’s own capabilities (self-efficacy). “Self-efficacy” is defined as: “a per-
son’s judgment of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain a
specified level of performance” (Bandura, 1993). Walstad et al. (2010) emphasizes that the focus
should not only be on the teaching of financial concepts but also on improving self-confidence.
Adding this leads to healthy financial behavior.

Conclusion and discussion

This study has provided a systematic literature review on the extent to which financial education
in schools can improve the financial literacy of children and adolescents, and enhance their capa-
bilities as economic citizens. There are indications that, with regard to the three components of our
definition of financial literacy, school-based financial education programs may improve children’s
and adolescents’ financial knowledge and attitudes. The retention results prove to be small, and the
studies measure mainly short-term effects. Studies that assess the intention to practice good behav-
ior and studies based on self-reported behavior also report positive effects. Furthermore, little is
known about the effects of financial education on children’s and adolescent’s actual financial
behavior. Evidence is relatively limited because it is methodologically difficult to assess the actual
behavior of children and adolescents. Also, longitudinal experimental research is needed to inves-
tigate the long-term effects of specific financial education programs on financial knowledge,
behavior and attitudes. The available evidence also suggests that financial education programs in
secondary schools and colleges may be effective in reducing the gender gap. These findings sup-
port the notion that financial-literacy education must start as early as in elementary school, and
ought to be repeated in secondary school and college. To ensure continuous learning, financial-
literacy education should be a compulsory part of the school curriculum. Furthermore, the few
financial education programs that involve parents in the education of their children seem to be
effective in increasing the financial literacy of children and adolescents (Batty et al., 2015; Bruhn
et al., 2013; Butt et al., 2008; Harter and Harter, 2009; Smith et al., 2011). This is in line with van
Campenhout (2015) and Shim et al. (2009) who report that the effectiveness of financial-literacy
education could be improved if parental involvement were higher.
In the literature, there seems to be some consensus about the pedagogical characteristics of
effective financial education programs (Collins and Odders-White, 2015; Johnson and Sherraden,
2007; Totenhagen et al., 2015). This study provides a number of key characteristics that should be
taken into account when designing an effective school-based financial education program. A prom-
ising method to teach financial literacy in primary school and secondary school seems to be
76 Citizenship, Social and Economics Education 17(1)

“Experiential Learning” with a variety of teaching methods. In elementary school, the focus should
be on “hands-on pedagogy,” whereby a key characteristic is “learning by doing.” In secondary
school, a key characteristic is “relevance of the topic” by adding real-world experiences to the les-
sons, and take into account the students’ perceptions of future goals. In both primary school and
secondary school, a key characteristic of effective financial education programs seems to be that
students experience the impact of their decisions by actively participating in the learning process.
In college, an essential key characteristic of the financial education program appears to be that the
content of the lessons aligns with students’ specific “life events.” Overall, “financial-literacy edu-
cation” should not only be concerned with acquiring new skills, but also with knowing how to
apply these skills, and, based on this, help students to gain experiences that makes them stronger.
A limitation in the design of financial-literacy education programs is that little or no attention is
paid to transferable knowledge. In order to make well-considered financial decisions, children and
adolescents must have the ability to make the transfer to new contexts. One way to achieve this is
by embedding behavioral economics in the design of financial-literacy education programs (Yoong,
2013). Future research must investigate the effectiveness of this approach. Another limitation is that
the design principles of programs do not receive sufficient attention. Specifically, several studies do
not explicitly describe the teaching methods. Furthermore, they give little or no information about
what in the program was effective, and how large the effects were. Moreover, they do not provide
information about what can be improved or changed. Other issues concern how the effectiveness of
financial education programs is measured. A self-reported increase of financial knowledge may be
measuring self-confidence more than actual knowledge. The same issue exists measuring self-
reported behavior that could be “intention to change” more than actual behavior change. Various
studies (Asarta et al., 2014; Fox et al., 2005; McCormick, 2009; Walstad et al., 2010) highlight the
importance of Jacob’s (1988) five-tier framework when evaluating the effectiveness of a financial
education program for high school youth. This framework, based on program evaluation for adults,
can easily be adapted for children and adolescents’ school-based financial education.

Compliance with ethical standards

For this type of study formal consent is not required. This article does not contain any studies with human
participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publi-
cation of this article.

Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publica-
tion of this article: This study was supported in part by Money Wise Platform (Wijzer in geldzaken).

Note
1. Amsterdam, 20 and 21 April 2016.

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