Financial literacy among Filipinos 

The Filipino mindset upon receipt of salaries, as commonly-known, is that upon receipt
of salaries, spending comes in before saving. What is left, is saved. If there’s none left,
then, there’s nothing saved.
According to a study conducted by Philam Life, 96 percent of Filipinos are concerned
about their own and their family’s health, however, only 16 percent of them are prepared
to pay for medical costs in case they are diagnosed with a critical illness.9
There is a rising number of senior-dependents or those retirees who depend on their
children for financial help, due to lack of financial education.
Financial planning teaches individuals to be responsible when it comes to their finances,
and instills the discipline needed in order to keep track of their financial goals.9
Financial planning involves educating Filipinos on the different types of goals that they
should set: short-term, medium-term, and long-term. Short-term goals involve monthly
living expenses that need to be paid, or the person’s basic needs, including the setting-
up of an emergency fund.  In contrast, medium term goals are those you want to
achieve in one to five years like buying a house or a car, while long term goals are
those that take longer than five years to achieve.
To address the growing demand for more investments in the country, the financial
industry advises that Filipinos should save first and spend whatever is left after putting
their savings aside.
 
  
 
 
 
What can the government and financial institutions do to make Filipinos
financially-literate?
1. Develop financial education policies and set up robust financial products available to the
financial intermediaries and their customers.7
2. Develop financial education policies and set up robust financial consumer protection
frameworks to ensure that consumers are informed and understand the financial
products available to them.7
3. Involve financial service providers and other key stakeholders to build the financial
capabilities of the youth and adults through a variety of delivery channels. 8
4. Empower teenagers to deliver financial education on issues such as savings to younger
children. This peer-to-peer approach is useful because young people tend to listen to
their peers more than adults, and the participative approach helps foster youth as
agents of change in their own communities.8
Financial literacy programs can reduce economic inequalities as well as empowering
citizens and decreasing information asymmetries between financial intermediaries and
their customers. 8
------------------------------------------------
 
In his article "State of Financial Education in the Philippines, "Go (2017) indicated
several findings of researches with regards to the state of financial literacy in the
country including:
  World Bank study in 2014 estimated 20 million Filipinos saved more but
only half had baank accounts.
 Asian Development Bank (ADB) study in 2015 revealed that PH does not
have a national strategy for financial education and literacy.
 In 2016, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released the national strategy
for financial inclusion, stating that while institutions strive to broaden
financial literacy should also complement such initiatives.
 As per Standards & Poor's (S &P) Ratings services survey last year, only
25% of Filipinos are financially literate. T his means that about 75 million
Filipinos have no idea about inflation, risk divrsification, insurance,
compound interest and bank savings.
 Ten years after discovery of the stock market, still less than one percent of
PH population is invested in it.
 More than 80 percent of the working middle class have no formal financial
plan.
Because of these findings, public and private sectors alike have recognized the nedd to
strengthen financial education in the country. 
Last November 27-28, 2018 more than 1000 leaders, decision makers, influencers and
representatives from public and private  institutions, civic society, and the academe
gathered ti the first ever Financial Education Stakeholders Expo organized by BSP. 
The Expo is designed to build an organized network of playrs that share the vision of a
financially literate citizenry and cohesively implement a variety of initiatives to achieve
this vision.
The Expo supports Republic Act No. 10922 which designates second week of
November as Economic and Financial Literacy Week. It is also aligned with the
objectives of the Philippine National Strategy for Financial inclusion, particularly the
pillar on Financial Education and Consumer Protection.
DEVELOPING PERSONAL LITERACY
One's attitude about money is heavily influenced by the parents' attitude and behavior
about money. The attitudes you formed early in life probably affect how you save,
spend, and invest today. 
Do you behave similarly or differently from your parents about handling money?
There are six major characteristic types in how people view money (Incharge, 2017).
FRUGAL - Frugal people seek financial security by living below their means and saving
money. They rarely buy luxurious items: they save money instead. They save money
because they believe that money will offer protection from unprecedented events and
expenses.
PLEASURE - Pleasure seekers use money to bring pleasure to themselves and to
others. They are more likely to spend than to save. they often live beyond their means
and spend more than they earn. If they are not careful and do not change, they may fall
into deep debt.

STATUS - Some people use money to express their social status. They likely to
purchase and "show off their branded items.
INDIFFERENCE - Some people place very little importance on having money and
would rather grow their own food and craft their own clothes. it is as if having too much
money makes them nervous and uncomfortable.

POWERFUL - Powerful people use money to express power or control over others.

SELF-WORTH - People who spend money for self-worth value how much they
accumulate and tend to judge others based on the amount of money they have. 

The National Endowment for Financial Education defines financial literacy as "the

ability to read, analyze, manage and communicate about the personaal financial
conditions that affect material well-being. It includes the ability to discern financial
choices, discuss money and financial issues without discomfort plan for the future, and
respond competently to life events that affect everyday financial decisions, including
events in the general economy"/ 
To put it simpy, "it is the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage one's financial
resources effectively for lifetime financial security" (Mandell 2009).
According to Hastings, et al. (2013) Financial Literacy is referred to as:                     

1. Knowledge of Financial Products

2. Knowledge of Financial Concepts
3. Having the mathematical skills or numeracy necessary for effective financial decision-
making
4. Being engaged in certain activities such as financial planning

Public and private institutions alike have recognized the need for financial literacy to be
incorporated in the school curriculum. Financial education and advocacy programs of
the public and private sectors have been identified as key areas in building an improved
financial system in the Philippines (Go, 2017).
Republic Act 10922, otherwise known as the "Economic and Financial Literacy Act",
mandates DepEd to "ensure that economic and financial education becomes an integral
part of formal learning". 
The Council for Economic Education, the leading organization in the United States that
focuses on the economic and financial education of students from kindergarten through
high school developed six standards gearing toward deepening students'
understanding of personal finance through an economic perspective.
Summary of the Standards and Key Concepts to deepen students' understanding:
Standards Key Concepts
 income earned or received by people
 different types of jobs as well as different forms of
income earned and received
 benefits and costs of increasing income through the
1. Earning Income
acquisition of education and skills
 government programs that affect income
 types of income and taxes
 labor market
 scarcity, choice, and opportunity cost
 factors that influence spending choices, such as
advertising, peer pressure and spending choices of
others
 comparing the costs and benefits of spending
decisions
2. Buying Goods and  basics of budgeting and planning
Services  making a spending decision
 payment methods, costs, and benefits of each
 budgeting and classification of expenses
 satisfaction, determinants of demand, costs of
infromation search, choice of product durability
 the role of government and other institutions in
providing information for consumers.
3. Saving  concept of saving and interest
 how people save money, where people can save
money, and why people save money
 the role that financial institutions play as intermediaries
between savers and borrowers
 the role government agencies such as the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) play in
protecting savings deposits
 role of markets in determining interest rates
 the mathematics of savings
  the power of compound interest rates
 real versus nominal interest rates
 present versus future value
 finacial regulators
 the factors determining the value of a person's savings
overtime
 automatic savings plans, "rainy-day"funds
 saving for retirment
 concept of credit and the cost of using credit
 why people use credit and the sources of credit
 why interest rates vary across borrowers
 basic calculationsrelated to borrowing (principal,
interest, compound interest)
4. Using Credit
 credit reports and credit scores
 behaviours that contribute to strong credit reports and
scores
 impact of credit reports and scores on consumers
 consumer protection laws
 concept of financial investment
 variety of possible financial investments
 calculate rayes of returns
 relevance and calculation of real and after tax rates of
return
5. Financial Investing
 how markets cause rates of return to change in
response to variation in risk and maturity
 how diversification can reduce risk
 how financial markets react to changes in market
conditions and information
 concepts of financial risk and loss
 insurance
6. Protecting and  managing risk
Insuring  identity theft
 life insurance products
 how to protect onelf against identity theft

The Benefits of Financial Literacy

 
 

 One's level of financial literacy affects one's quality of life significantly. It

determines one's ability to provide basic needs attitude toward money and
investment, as well as one's contribution to the community.
 Financial literacy enables people to understand and apply knowledge and
skills to achieve a lifestyle that is financially balanced, sustainable, ethical,
and responsible.

 Increased personal financial literacy affects one's financial behavior.

These changes in behavior pay dividends to society as well. People who
work, spend, save, borrow, invest and manage risk wisely are less likely to
require a government rescue.
 Financial literacy does not totally eliminate the need for a social safety net
because even the most prudent individual can encounter financial
difficulties. Taking responsibility for one's financial life cultivates proper
decision making skills and discipline. Most of the responsibility for
mananging finances matters rests with the individual. That responsibility is
easier for adults to bear when they have learned the basics of personal
finance in their youth.
  

Financial literacy unlocks the door to financial success.

The main benefit of financial literacy is that it empowers us to make smart financial
decisions. It provides the knowledge and skills we need to manage money effectively—
budgeting, saving, borrowing, and investing. This means that we’re better equipped to
reach our financial goals and achieve financial stability.
The particular benefits of financial literacy will differ depending on a person’s
circumstances, but some common situations in which financial literacy can help include:

 Saving for retirement.

 Creating and sticking to a balanced budget.
 Purchasing a home.
 Selecting insurance.
 Reducing expenses.
 Investing.
 Buying a car.
 Saving for college.
 Managing debt.
 Using credit cards.
What it means to be financially literate
To be financial literate means someone has an understanding of essential financial
concepts. These include:
 Budgeting.
 Saving.
 Credit.
 Debt.
 Insurance.
 Financial decision-making.

The second part of financial literacy is using financial knowledge to inform financial
decisions and establish healthy money-management habits. Financial literacy skills
include:

 Creating a budget.
 Calculating interest.
 Lowering costs by reducing “want” purchases.
 Evaluating loan terms.
 Comparison shopping.
 Doing taxes.
 Saving money.
Financial literacy knowledge and skills contribute to smart financial decision-making and
the ability to carry out the decisions that are made.

Trends Making Financial Literacy More Important

Compounding the problems associated with financial illiteracy, it appears financial
decision-making is also getting more onerous for consumers. Five trends are
converging that demonstrate the importance of making thoughtful and informed
decisions about finances:
1) Consumers are shouldering more of the financial decisions
Retirement planning is one example of this shift. Past generations depended on pension
plans to fund the bulk of their retirement lives. Pension funds, managed by
professionals, put the financial burden on the companies or governments that
sponsored them. Consumers were not involved with the decision-making, typically did
not even contribute their own funds, and they were rarely made aware of the funding
status or investments held by the pension. Today, pensions are more a rarity than the
norm, especially for new workers. 
2) Savings and investment options are more complex
Consumers are also being asked to choose among various investment and savings
products. These products are more sophisticated than in the past, requiring consumers
to choose among different options that offer varying interest rates and maturities,
decisions they are not adequately educated to make. Deciding on complex financial
instruments with a large range of options can impact a consumer’s ability to buy a
home, finance an education, or save for retirement, adding to the decision-making
pressure.
 
 3) Government aid is lacking
A major source of retirement income for past generations was Social Security. But the
amount paid by Social Security is not enough, and it may not be available at all in the
future. 
4) The financial environment is changing
The financial landscape is very dynamic. Now a global marketplace, there are many
more participants in the market and many more factors that can influence it. The quickly
changing environment created by technological advances such as electronic trading
makes the financial markets even swifter and more volatile. Taken together, these
factors can cause conflicting views and difficulty in creating, implementing, and following
a financial roadmap.
5) We are inundated with choices
Banks, credit unions, brokerage firms, insurance firms, credit card companies, mortgage
companies, financial planners, and other financial service companies are all vying for
assets, creating confusion for the consumer.

Media Literacy is defined in many ways:

It is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate messages in a wide
variety of forms- (Aufderheide, 1993)
It is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create messages across a variety of
contexts. (Christ and Potter, 1998)
It is a term used by modern scholars to refer to the process of critically analyzing and
learning to create one's own messages in print, audio, video and multimedia.
Media literacy is the ability to identify different types of media and understand the
messages they're sending.
Kids take in a huge amount of information from a wide array of sources, far beyond the
traditional media (TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines) of most parents' youth. There
are text messages, memes, viral videos, social media, video games, advertising, and
more. But all media shares one thing: Someone created it. And it was created for a
reason. Understanding that reason is the basis of media literacy. 
The digital age has made it easy for anyone to create media. We don't always know
who created something, why they made it, and whether it's credible. This makes media
literacy tricky to learn and teach. Nonetheless, media literacy is an essential skill in the
digital age.
 According to Boyd (2014) media literacy education began in United States and United
Kingdom as a direct result of war propaganda in the 1930s and the rise of advertising in
the 190s.In both cases, media was being used to manipulate the perspective (and
subsequent actions) of those exposed to it, thereby giving rise to educate people on
how to detect the biases, falsehoods and halftruths depicted in print, radio, and
television.
Why Teach Media Literacy? Here are ten good reasons:
1. Media literacy encourages young people to question, evaluate, understand and
appreciate their multimedia culture. It teaches them to become active, engaged media
consumers and users.
1. Media education brings the world into the classroom, giving immediacy and relevance
to traditional subjects such as History, English, Health, Civics and the Creative Arts. It
serves as a perfect bridge for subject integration and interdisciplinary studies.
2. Media education embodies and furthers current pedagogy, which emphasizes
student-centred learning, the recognition of multiple intelligences, and the analysis and
management – rather than just the simple storing – of information.
3. Media education is grounded in the sound pedagogical approach of starting
learning where kids are at. The media – music, comics, television, video games, the
Internet and even ads – are a part of life that all kids enjoy. Media create a shared
environment and are, therefore, catalysts for learning.
4. Media education encourages young people to use multimedia tools creatively, a
strategy that contributes to “understanding by doing” and prepares them for a workforce
that increasingly demands the use of sophisticated forms of communication.
5. In a society concerned about growing youth apathy to the political process, media
education engages young people in “real-world” issues. It helps young people to see
themselves as active citizens and potential contributors to public debate.
6. In a diverse and pluralistic society, the study of media helps youth understand how
media portrayals can influence how we view different groups in society: it deepens
young people’s understanding of diversity, identity and difference.
7. Media literacy helps young people’s personal growth and social development by
exploring the connections between popular culture – music, fashion, television
programming, movies and advertising – and their attitudes, lifestyle choices and self-
image.
8. Media literacy helps children critique media representation, teaching them to
distinguish between reality and fantasy as they compare media violence and real-life
violence, media heroes and real-life heroes, and media role models and real-life roles
and expectations.
9. With most  students turning first to the Internet for research, media education is an
essential component of Information Communications Technology education, assisting
young people in developing critical thinking skills and strategies for optimizing searches,
evaluating and authenticating information and examining issues of plagiarism
and copyright.

Specifically, it helps kids:

 Learn to think critically. As kids evaluate media, they decide whether the messages
make sense, why certain information was included, what wasn't included, and what the
key ideas are. They learn to use examples to support their opinions. Then they can
make up their own minds about the information based on knowledge they already have.
 Become a smart consumer of products and information. Media literacy helps kids
learn how to determine whether something is credible. It also helps them determine the
"persuasive intent" of advertising and resist the techniques marketers use to sell
products.
 Recognize point of view. Every creator has a perspective. Identifying an author's point
of view helps kids appreciate different perspectives. It also helps put information in the
context of what they already know -- or think they know.
 Create media responsibly. Recognizing your own point of view, saying what you want
to say how you want to say it, and understanding that your messages have an impact is
key to effective communication.
 Identify the role of media in our culture. From celebrity gossip to magazine covers to
memes, media is telling us something, shaping our understanding of the world, and
even compelling us to act or think in certain ways.
 Understand the author's goal. What does the author want you to take away from a
piece of media? Is it purely informative, is it trying to change your mind, or is it
introducing you to new ideas you've never heard of? When kids understand what type of
influence something has, they can make informed choices.
 When teaching your kids media literacy, it's not so important for parents to tell kids
whether something is "right." In fact, the process is more of an exchange of ideas. You'll
probably end up learning as much from your kids as they learn from you.
 
 
Key Concepts for Media Literacy
 
Media educators base their teaching on key concepts for media literacy, which provide
an effective foundation for examining mass media and popular culture. These key
concepts act as filters that any media text has to go through in order for us to critically
respond. 

1. Media are constructions

Media products are created by individuals who make conscious and unconscious

choices about what to include, what to leave out and how to present what is included.
These decisions are based on the creators’ own point of view, which will have been
shaped by their opinions, assumptions and biases – as well as media they have been
exposed to. As a result of this, media products are never entirely accurate reflections of
the real world – even the most objective documentary filmmaker has to decide what
footage to use and what to cut, as well as where to put the camera – but we instinctively
view many media products as direct representations of what is real.

Ask:

 
 Who created this media product?
 What is its purpose?
 What assumptions or beliefs do its creators have that are reflected in the content?

2. Audiences negotiate meaning

The meaning of any media product is not created solely by its producers but is, instead,
a collaboration between them and the audience – which means that different audiences
can take away different meanings from the same product. Media literacy encourages us
to understand how individual factors, such as age, gender, race and social status affect
our interpretations of media.

Ask:

 How might different people see this media product differently?

 How does this make you feel, based on how similar or different you are from the people
portrayed in the media product?

3. Media have commercial implications

Most media production is a business and must, therefore, make a profit. In addition,
media industries belong to a powerful network of corporations that exert influence on
content and distribution. Questions of ownership and control are central – a relatively
small number of individuals control what we watch, read and hear in the media. Even in
cases where media content is not made for profit – such as YouTube videos and
Facebook posts – the ways in which content is distributed are nearly always run with
profit in mind.

Ask:

 What is the commercial purpose of this media product (in other words, how will it help
someone make money)?
 How does this influence the content and how it’s communicated?
 If no commercial purpose can be found, what other purposes might the media product
have (for instance, to get attention for its creator or to convince audiences of a particular
point of view).
 How do those purposes influence the content and how it’s communicated?

4. Media have social and political implications

Media convey ideological messages about values, power and authority. In media
literacy, what or who is absent may be more important than what or who is included.
These messages may be the result of conscious decisions, but more often they are the
result of unconscious biases and unquestioned assumptions – and they can have a
significant influence on what we think and believe.

As a result, media have great influence on politics and on forming social change. TV
news coverage and advertising can greatly influence the election of a national leader on
the basis of image; representations of world issues, both in journalism and fiction, can
affect how much attention they receive; and society’s views towards different groups
can be directly influenced by how – and how often – they appear in media.

Ask:

 Who and what is shown in a positive light? In a negative light?

 Why might these people and things be shown this way?
 Who and what is not shown at all?
 What conclusions might audiences draw based on these facts?

5. Each medium has a unique aesthetic form

The content of media depends in part on the nature of the medium. This includes the
technical, commercial and storytelling demands of each medium: for instance, the
interactive nature of video games leads to different forms of storytelling – and different
demands on media creators – that are found in film and TV.

 
 Ask:

 What techniques does the media product use to get your attention and to communicate
its message?
 In what ways are the images in the media product manipulated through various
techniques (for example: lighting, makeup, camera angle, photo manipulation)?
 What are the expectations of the genre (for example: print advertising, TV drama, music
video) towards its subject?
What Media Literacy is NOT
Given the broad and somewhat nebulous nature of media literacy, its implied definition
can be gleaned by understanding what media literacy is not. The following is a list of
actions that are often mistaken for being representative of media litercay (Center for
Media Literacy, n. d.)
 Criticising the media is not, in and of itself, media literacy. However,
being media literate sometimes requires that one indeed criticize what one
sees and hears.

 Merely producing media is not media literacy although part of being

media literate is the ability to produce media.

 Teaching with media (videos presentations, etc) does not equal media

literacy. An education in media literacy must also include teaching about
media.

 Viewing media and analyzing it from a single perspective is not media

literacy. True media literacy requires both the ability and willingness to
view and analyze media from multiple positions and perspectives.

 Media literacy does not simply mean knowing what and what not to watch;
it does not mean, "watch carefully, think critically."

CHALLENGES TO MEDIA LITERACY EDUCATION

One glaring challenge to teaching Media Literacy is, "how do we teach it?" Teaching it
as a subject in itself might not be feasible given how unburdened the curriculum is at the
moment, while integrating it into the subjects that are currently being taught might not
be enough to teach what are essentially media consumption habits- skills and attitudes
that are learned by doing and repetition rather than by mere classroom discussion
(Koltay, 2011).
Livingston and Van Der Graof (2010) identified "how measure media literacy and
evaluate the success of media literacy initiatives "as being one of the most pernecious
challenges facing educators in the 21st century, for the simple reason that if we cannot
somehow measure the presence of media literacy in our students, how do we know we
have actually taught them?
Finally, a more fundamental challenge to Media Literacy Education is one of purpose.
As Chrsi & Potter (1998) put it, "Is media literacy best understood as a means of
inculcating children against the potential harms of the media or as a means of
enhancing their appreciation of the literacy merits of the media?

Additional source for your reading:

THE PROMISES, CHALLENGES, AND FUTURES OF MEDIA LITERACY: REPORT
 
The report, issued in February 2018 by Data & Society, addresses the “fake news”
problem by evaluating the successes and failures of recent media literacy efforts.
Contemporary media literacy programs–commonly organized around the five main
themes of youth participation, teacher training and curricular resources, parental
support, policy initiatives, and evidence base construction–have demonstrated positive
outcomes, particularly in the case of rapid responses to breaking news events,
connecting critical thinking with behavior change, and evaluating partisan content.
However, media literacy efforts continue to struggle with a lack of comprehensive
evaluation data, with some research showing programs can have little-to-no impact for
certain materials, or even lead to harmful overconfidence in assessing media content.
Report authors Monica Bulger and Patrick Davison make five recommendations to
guide the future of media literacy programming for educators, legislators, technologists,
and philanthropists in the space.
Specifically, they warn against the treatment of media literacy as a panacea–particularly
at a time when significant resources continue to be pushed toward media literacy
programs as a counter balance to “fake news.”
The report recommends the following approaches:
 Developing a coherent understanding of the media
environment: With new technologies and new rhetorical techniques,
existing programs should be updated.
 Improve cross-disciplinary collaboration: Media literacy is often seen
as a narrow, pedagogical field. But work from other disciplines – social
psychology, political science, sociology – is producing new research and
findings that could greatly benefit media literacy.
 Leverage the current media crisis to consolidate stakeholders: The
new attention on “fake news” could allow for new cross-disciplinary
collaboration and therefore greater coherence within the field.
  Prioritize the creation of a national media literacy evidence base: A
centralized and stable base of evaluation data would make more accurate
assessment possible. Though there are many potential political challenges
to such an evidence base.
 Develop curricula for addressing action in addition to
interpretation:With the increased use of social media, literacy efforts
need to be able to address user behavior in addition to interpretation.

10 Examples of Media Literacy Activities

1. Dissecting Logos

Teach students to recognize the basic effects and intricacies of brand logos with this
simple, discussion-driven exercise.
Prepare by asking students to share logos that pop into their heads, such as Apple and
Taco Bell. The next day, print and bring in the logos. Gather the class in a circle, holding
each logo up one at a time. Ask open questions as you do so. “How did you know this logo
is Taco Bell?” “Would you still recognize it if it were green instead of purple?” “How
important is using the same colours?” You can ask impromptu follow-up questions based
on answers, and use the call-and-response method to encourage participation.

You may be surprised to see which logos resonate most with your students.

Age: 1st to 3rd Grade

2. Describing Characters

Use visual media — such as a movie or television show — to help young students learn
about character traits.

A lesson you can use in language arts classes, tell each student to pay attention to a
particular character before playing the show or movie. After it’s done, pair students who
focused on different characters together. Instruct each partner to describe three traits that
his or her character demonstrated. The other partner should ask “why?” if the description
was vague, prompting an example that supports the characteristics. For example, if a
student says “I think Jenny is smart,” the partner should encourage more detail.

After, the class can work together to thoroughly describe each character.

Age: 2nd to 3rd Grade

3. Building a Cereal Brand

Bring in different cereal boxes to launch an activity that spans across classes.

It starts by putting students into small groups, giving each its own cereal box. Group
members must analyze it, noting attributes such as font size, style and placement as well
as elements such as mascot use and facial expression. To smoothen this process, provide
a sheet of questions to consider. This initial exercise opens the door to range of activities.
For example, students could watch a commercial for the cereal, analyzing it in a similar
way. They could then script their own ad, recording it using school or personal devices.

Student creativity will shine, so don’t be surprised if they ask to make ads in other classes.

Age: 3rd to 5th Grade

4. Dissecting Logos, Part II

Expand the first exercise on this list for older students by analyzing logos more
thoroughly.
A basic homework task launches this activity: Get students to identify and bring up to four
pictures of logos to class. Start the lesson by having them identify each other’s logos,
starting a discussion about how a company would benefit from being easily-recognizable.
You can even ask if they’ve ever bought something just because they knew the logo. To
turn the exercise into an engaging math activity, allow students to find as many logos as
they can across the classroom — including on apparel they’re wearing. Then, work to
make a chart that visualizes the popularity of the different logos.

Who knew a company’s trademark picture makes for good lesson material?

If you want to reimagine how to arrange your classroom for activities like this, consider
a flexible seating arrangement.
Age: 3rd to 5th Grade
5. Finding Movie Messages

Teach students to find the theme and key points of any content piece — be it
academic or part of popular media — by watching and reflecting on movies.

Depending on students’ existing knowledge, start by explaining that most media have
underlying messages they communicate. For example, many adventure shows and
movies highlight the importance of courage. To help students solidify understanding, sort
them into groups and present a list of about 10 movies they would likely know. Groups
should write a key message of each movie before reviewing responses as a class. To
wrap up the activity, watch a short film. Ask questions throughout it to help your students
pinpoint the underlying messages.

They’ll likely see their favourite movies in new lights afterwards.

Age: 4th to 6th Grade

6. Differentiating Media

Allow students to create a range of media, exercising their analysis skills

afterward, by holding this multi-class activity.

It is based on you sharing an overarching idea or story. For example, a hypothetical news
piece about a new sports arena opening in your area. After students note what you say,
divide them into groups. Distribute templates and instructions about creating distinct media
— such as print ads, mock radio interviews and storyboarded news hits — to each group.
Over the course of a week, they must craft different media pieces about the idea or story
you shared. After students submit their products, hold a class-wide discussion to analyze
how the content changed or was told differently depending on the medium.

An exercise in differentiation, you should see distinct learning styles shine.

Age: 5th to 6th Grade
7. Deconstructing Advertising Language

Help your class understand — and see through — advertising language, including

how advertisers can influence them to make decisions through word choice and writing
techniques.
Launch this exercise by delivering a brief lesson about advertising claims. Explored in
many online and offline marketing resources, these 10 kinds of claims typically highlight a
product’s superiority over competitors. For example, “our cola has more taste” is
an unfinished claim. After hearing or reading it, your students should ask: “More taste than
what?” Once they grasp the concept, hand out stacks of magazines and online ads you’ve
printed to groups of students. Each group should explore the resources they’ve received,
identifying two to four ads that use specific claims. After, groups can share their findings
with the class.
Ideally, out of curiosity after completing this exercise, students will begin to analyze ads
they see.

Age: 6th to 8th Grade

8. Making a Newspaper

Use media literacy education to bridge gaps between subjects, as your students work
together to publish a class newspaper.
The newspaper can focus on a fictional setting — such as a town in a novel your class is
reading — and each student should deliver a specific product. For example, one student
can write a breaking news story for the front page, whereas another can write a report
about a historically-significant event in the town. You can even involve math, as the paper
could include a math challenge made up of word problems based on scenarios in the
novel. Students should submit first drafts of their products to you, prompting you to make
corrections and hand them back.

Once students have finished and submitted all revised products, put them together to
create and display a class newspaper.

Age: 7th Grade and Up

9. Re-imagining the News

Have students critically evaluate, and improve, a news piece with this 30-minute

activity.

It starts by watching a short news clip. At its conclusion, hold a minds-on exercise in the
form of an informal quiz. Ask about the clip’s content, including the point of the story and
who it affected. This allows you to hold a subsequent discussion about how students
would improve the clip to better communicate its points. Then, let them. Dividing them into
groups, they should write five ways they would change the clip. They can then storyboard
the revamped news piece.

You can replicate this activity to analyze and create other media, too.

Age: 7th Grade and Up

10. Switching the Medium

Build your students’ writing skills in an engaging way — allowing them learn nuances
between media — by morphing existing content into a different medium.

There are many chances to launch this activity throughout a given semester, as it works
best to reinforce student understanding of media such as books and movies. As an in-
class group exercise or take-home solo assessment, assign them different scenes from
the specific book or movie. Then, match each scene with a specific medium. For example,
a scene in which the protagonist argues with supporting characters could be re-imagined
as an advertisement — the protagonist would “sell” his ideas to them. Students tackling
this scene-medium combo would have to write the ad. They can act it out to the class, too.

This activity also prepares students for quizzes. To re-imagine a scene, they’ll have to
study it closely.

Age: 8th Grade 
Digital Literacy
Before you proceed to the continuation of the lesson, can you differentiate Media
Literacy and Digital Literacy?

Digital Natives
 
What is a Digital Native?
 

Digital native is a term coined by Mark Prensky in 2001 used to describe the generation
of people who grew up in the era of ubiquitous technology, including computers and the
internet. Digital natives are comfortable with technology and computers at an early age
and consider technology to be an integral and necessary part of their lives. Many
teenagers and children in the first world today are generally considered to be digital
natives as they mainly communicate and learn via computers, SNS (social networking
service) and texting. The opposite of digital natives is digital immigrants—people who
have had to adapt to the new language of technology.
Understanding Digital Natives
The idea of “digital native” came from an article explaining Prensky's opinion on why
today’s teachers are having trouble teaching students. Prensky argued that young
people today are speaking a digital language whereas teachers are speaking an old
accented language (their accent being their reluctance to adopt new technology). He
called for a change in the way children are taught so that they may learn in a “language”
they understand. It is worth noting that not all children born today are digital natives.
Although cheaper mobile technology is making rapid inroads into developing and
emerging nations, children in less affluent areas are less exposed to technology than
their counterparts in the G8, (developed countries) for example.
 
It is important to note that Prensky's original paper was not a scientific one, and that no
empirical data exists to support his claims. He has since abandoned his digital native
metaphor in favor of digital wisdom.
But here goes  problem, digitally literate is popularly defined as the ability to use
computers or use the internet, which as we have seen earlier, forms only one part of
thec rucial skills and competencies required to be digitally literate.
Our expanded view of the term "literate" allows to see that while the digital natives in
our classrooms are most certainly familiar with digital systems-perhaps even more so
than their instructors- this does not mean they automatically know how to read, write,
process, and communicate information on these systems in ways that are both
meaningful and ethical, especially when the information involved does not involved
technology's most common use: personal entertainment.
That is to say, when the task at hand does not involve what the digital natives consider
to be entertainment, the gaps in their literacy begin to show.
---------------
Researches about individual generation are continued as time changes. The
terminologies that can refer to certain generation like "Digital Natives" are made, which
is because individual generations create their own culture and characteristic. Here are
some of culture & characteristic of "Digital Natives".
1. They feel familiar with digital devices. 54% of them have smartphone as a first
personal mobile phone.

2. They tend to be individualistic. This might be because they are affected by

environmental elements like parents (X generation).
3. They are realistic. They are usually raised in affluent environment, however, due
to prolonged economic recession and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, they think
their future is not clear. This kinds of thoughts make them focus more on their
reality.

---------------------
CHALLENGES TO DIGITAL LITERACY EDUCATION
Digital Literacy Education shares many of the same challenges to Media Literacy.
For example:
 How should it be taught?
 How can it be measured and evaluated?
 Should it be taught for the protection of students in their consumption of
information or should it be to develop their appreciation for digital media?
Brown (2017) also noted that despite the global acknowledgement  that Digital Literacy
Education is a need, there is as of yet no overarching model of framewok model or
framework for addressing  all of the skills deemed necessary. Put simply, there is no
single and comprehensive plan anywhere for teaching digital literacy the way it should
be taught.
Despite the challenges posed by the broad and fluid nature of media (and therefore
digital) literacy, educators in the Philippines can spearhead literacy efforts by doubling-
down on those concepts and principles of Media literacy that are utmost importance,
namely, critical thinking and the grounding of critical thought in a moral framework.
Teach media and digital literacy integrally. 
Any attempt to teach these principles must first realize that they cannot be separated
from context-meaning, they cannot be taught separately  from other topics. Critical
thinking requires something other than itself to thinl critically about, and thus cannot
develop in a vacuum. Similarly, developing a moral framework within students cannot
be taught  via merely talking about it. This moral framework develops by practicing it,
that is, basing our decisions on it, in the context of everything else we do in our day-to-
day lives.
Master your subject matter. 
Whatever it is you teach, you must not only possess a thorough understanding of your
subject matter, you must also understand why you are teaching it, and why it is
important to learn. Teaching is in itself a kind of media the students are obliged to
consume; it is only fair they know why.
Think "multi-disciplinary".
How can educators integrate media and digital literacy in a subject as abstract as
Mathematics, for example? The answer lies in stepping-out of the "pure mathematics"
mindset and embracing communication as being just as important to math as
computation. Once communication is accepted as important, this opens up new venues
where the new literacies can be exercised.
Explore motivations, not just messages.
While it is very important that students learn what is the message being communicated
by any media text, it is also important to develop in them a habit for asking why is the
message being communicated in the first place.
Leverage skills that students already have.
It is always suprising how much a person can do when they are personally and
affectively motivated to do so- in other words, a person can do amazing things when
they really want to. Students can produce remarkably  well researched output for things
they are deeply interested in, even without instruction. Harnessing this natural desire to
explore whatever intersts them will go a long way in improving media and digital literacy
education in your classroom.

Digital literacy skills are some of the most crucial skills taught in today's schools.

But knowing digital literacy skills are important to teach is far different from knowing how
to teach them.

As a career readiness curriculum developer, middle and high school teachers often ask
us for tips on teaching digital literacy skills.
While we provide curriculum to teach digital literacy and other career readiness skills,
our solution may not be the best fit for everyone.
From this lesson taken from the internet, you'll find tips and resources to help
you teach digital literacy in your classroom. You'll also discover how to use
digital curriculum to easily teach these skills as part of your overall course.
But before getting into the details, it's important to understand what "digital literacy
skills" actually are.

What Are Digital Literacy Skills?

Digital literacy encompasses a number of 21st century skills related to using technology

effectively and appropriately.
Because digital literacy and citizenship are gaining importance across the country,
many states have developed specific digital literacy standards and courses.
There are six common topics that all digital literacy curriculum should include:
1. Information literacy
2. Ethical use of digital resources
3. Understanding digital footprints
4. Protecting yourself online
5. Handling digital communication
 6. Cyberbullying
Information  Literacy
Today’s students rely on the Internet as a primary source of information for both school
and personal use.
That’s why it’s important that you teach students how to evaluate information to ensure
it’s accurate.
To teach information literacy, focus on effective ways to evaluate the quality and
credibility of information and cover learning strategies that yield more credible results.
Ethical Use of Digital Resources
While your students may know they need to cite information from books, they could
forget that they need to cite information online as well.
Talk to your students about intellectual property, copyrighted material, and the proper
way to reference the information.
It’s especially important to note that copying text from a website is plagiarism just like
stealing text from a book.
Understanding Digital Footprints
A digital footprint is all of the information a person passively leaves and actively shares
about themselves online, especially on social media sites. Text, images, multimedia,
cookies, browsing histories, IP addresses, passwords, and even Internet service
providers all make up a person’s digital footprint.
Your students spend a lot of time online and may not always think about the
implications of what they do. In your digital literacy lessons, discuss the consequences
of what students share online.

It’s especially important to note that students can’t assume anything is private online.
Whether it’s the new phone number they registered or the tweet they just wrote, it’s all
available online.  

Protecting Yourself Online

With so much information available online, your students need to understand the basics
of Internet safety.
Creating strong passwords, using privacy settings, and knowing what not to share on
social media will start them on the right foot.
You can also delve into more technical parts of privacy, like virtual personal networks
(VPNs), data encryption, and hacking. 

Handling Digital Communication

Today, most students use technology to communicate in one way or another. That’s
why it’s so important to talk to them about how to communicate safely and
appropriately.
That includes both personal and professional communications.
Almost every career requires digital communications at some point. If students don’t
have a good grasp on responsible communications, their careers could end before they
even had a chance to start. 

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying — the use of technology as a means to harass others — has become a

daily occurrence across the United States.
According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, an average of 27.9% of students
experienced cyberbullying over the past 10 years. Those numbers have jumped to an
average of 34% since 2014.
The statistics about cyberbullying speak for themselves! Addressing it in the classroom
can stop current bullies and prevent future harassment.
As a result, cyberbullying lessons are some of the most important parts of digital literacy
classes.
 

Reference:
Stauffer, B. (2020). How to Teach Digital Literacy Skills. Retrieved
from https://www.aeseducation.com/blog/teach-digital-literacy-skills
------------------------------
Digital Literacy (also called e-literacy, cyber literacy, and even information
literacy by some authors) is no different although now the "text" can actually be
images, sound, video, music or a combination thereof.
Digital Literacy can be defined as the ability to locate, evaluate, create and
communicate information on various digital platforms.
It is the technical, cognitive, and sociological skills needed to perform tasks and solve
problems in digital environments (Eshet-Alkalal, 2004)
Skills and Competencies listed by Shapiro and Hughes (1996) in a curriculum
envisioned to promote computer literacy:
 tool literacy-competence in using hardware and software tools
 resource literacy-understanding forms of and access to information
resources; 
 social-structural literacy-understanding the production and social
significance of information;
 research literacy- using IT tools for research and scholarship;
 publishing literacy-ability to communicate and publish information;
 emerging technologies literacy- undestanding of new developments in
IT, and
 critical literacy-abilty to evaluate the benefits of new technologies (this
literacy is not the same as critical thinking).
Bawden (2008) collated the skills and competencies comprising digital literacy from
contemporary scholars on the matter into four groups:
1. Underpiinings- this referes to those skills and competencies theat "support" or
"enable" everything else within digital literacy, namely: traditional literacy and
computer/ICT literacy (ex. the ability to use computers in everyday lie.)
2. Background Knowledge- This largely refers to knowing where information on a
particular subject or topic can be found, how information is kept, and how it is
diddeminated- a skill taken for granted back in the day when information almost
exclusively resided in the form of printed text.
3. Central Competencies-These are the skills and competencies that a majority of
acholars agree on as being core to digital literacy today, namely:
 reading and understanding digital and non-digital formats
 creating and communicating digital information;
 evaluation of information;
 knowledge assembly
 information literacy; and
 media literacy.
4. Attitudes and Perspectives- Bawden (2008) suggests that it is these attitudes and
perspectives that link digital literacy today with traditional literacy, saying "it is not
enough to have skills and competencies, they must be grounded in some moral
framework," specifically:
 independent learning -the initiative and ability to learn whatever is neede
for a person's specific situation; and
 moral/social literacy- an understanding of correct, acceptable, and
sensible behavior in a digital environment.
Information Literacy within Digital Literacy
Given the ease with which digital media (as opposed to traditional print media) can be
edited and manipulated, the ability to approach it with a healthy amount of skepticism
has become a "survival skill" for media consumers.
Eshet-Alkalai (2004) draws attention to Information Literacy as a critical component of
Digital Literacy as "the cognitive skills that consumers use to evaluate information in an
educated and effective manner".  In effect, Information Literacy acts as a filter by which
consumers evaluate the veracity of the information being presented to them via digital
media and therupon sort the erroneous, irrelevant , and biased from what is
demnstrably factual.                                                                                                           
Socio-Emotional Literacy within Digital Literacy
Alongside information Literacy, Eshet-alkalai (2004)highlights a kind of Soco-Emotional
literacy needed to navigate the internet, raising questions such as , "How do i know if
another user in a chatroom is who he says he is?" or "How do i know if  call for blood
donations in the internet is real or a hoax?"       
Such question should make us realize that there no hard and fast rules for determining
the answers. Instead, there is a necessary familiarity with the unwritten rules of
Cyberspace; an understanding that while the internet is a global village of sorts, it is
also a global jungle of human communication, embracing everything from truth to
falsehoods, honesty and deceit, and ultimately, good and evil.
According to Eshet-Alkalai (2004), this Socio-Emotional Literacy requires users to be
"very critical, analytical and mature-implying a kind of richness of experience that the
literate transfers from real life to their dealings online. 

  --------------------                                                                                                       
Below discussion was taken from Media Smarts -Canada's Centre for Media and
Digital Literacy, which i find it worth reading:

 
What is Digital Literacy?
Digital literacy is more than technological know-how: it includes a wide variety of ethical,
social and reflective practices that are embedded in work, learning, leisure and daily life.
Globally, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) frames its
benchmarks for digital literacy around six standards: creativity and innovation;
communication and collaboration; research and information fluency; critical thinking,
problem solving and decision making; digital citizenship; and technology operations and
concepts.[4]
Digital Literacy Model

 
This model[5] illustrates the many interrelated elements that fall under the digital literacy
umbrella. These range from basic access, awareness and training to inform citizens and
build consumer and user confidence to highly sophisticated and more complex creative
and critical literacies and outcomes.[6] There is a logical progression from the more
fundamental skills towards the higher, more transformative levels, but doing so is not
necessarily a sequential process: much depends on the needs of individual users.
Use, Understand, Create
Traditional definitions of literacy have focused on skills relating to numeracy, listening,
speaking, reading, writing and critical thinking, with the end goal being developing active
thinkers and learners who are able to engage in society in effective and meaningful
ways.[7] These skills are needed for full participation in digital society as well, but they
are only part of a larger set of skills and competencies that are required.
Competencies for digital literacy can be classified according to three main
principles: Use, Understand and Create.
Use represents the technical fluency that’s needed to engage with computers and the
Internet. Skills and competencies that fall under “use” range from basic technical know-
how – using computer programs such as word processors, web browsers, email and
other communication tools – to the more sophisticated abilities for accessing and using
knowledge resources, such as search engines and online databases, and emerging
technologies such as cloud computing.
Understand is that critical piece – it’s the set of skills that help us comprehend,
contextualize, and critically evaluate digital media so that we can make informed
decisions about what we do and encounter online. These are the essential skills that we
need to start teaching our kids as soon as they go online.
Understand includes recognizing how networked technology affects our behaviour and
our perceptions, beliefs and feelings about the world around us.
Understand also prepares us for a knowledge economy as we develop – individually
and collectively – information management skills for finding, evaluating and effectively
using information to communicate, collaborate and solve problems.
Create is the ability to produce content and effectively communicate through a variety of
digital media tools. Creation with digital media is more than knowing how to use a word
processor or write an email: it includes being able to adapt what we produce for various
contexts and audiences; to create and communicate using rich media such as images,
video and sound; and to effectively and responsibly engage with Web 2.0 user-
generated content such as blogs and discussion forums, video and photo sharing,
social gaming and other forms of social media.
The ability to create using digital media ensures that Canadians are active contributors
to digital society. Creation – whether through blogs, tweets, wikis or any of the hundreds
of avenues for expression and sharing online – is at the heart of citizenship
and innovation.
As Douglas Belshaw puts it, “Digital literacies are transient: they change over time, may
involve using different tools or developing different habits of mind, and almost always
depend upon the context in which an individual finds herself.”[8] Given how quickly and
frequently our media world is evolving, developing and maintaining one’s digital literacy
is a lifelong process. The specific skills that are needed will vary from person to person
depending on their needs and circumstances – which can range from basic awareness
and training to more sophisticated and complex applications. What remains constant,
however, are the key concepts that apply to all networked media and are relevant to
students – and adults – at all ages.
 
Fostering Digital Literacy in the Classroom
Many teachers are using technology in their classrooms to support different learning
styles and to engage students: what’s missing are guidelines to help them do this in
ways that promote innovative thinking and collaborative work, promote ethical practices,
and strengthen their own professional development.
Teachers interviewed by MediaSmarts identified several key factors that limit the
ability of educators to help students build digital literacy skills. They also
offered some solutions to these problems, including the need to:
 provide students with authentic learning opportunities that are enhanced through
technological tools;
 position teachers as facilitators and co-learners, instead of “drill and kill” experts;
 focus teacher training on how to use technology to enhance learning and meet
curricular outcomes; and
 create reasonable policies and less restrictive filters in schools so that teachers can
better help students develop and exercise good judgement.[12]
Technology has shifted the traditional classroom paradigm that positions the teacher as
the expert. This can be hard for many educators to accept, but it’s not necessarily a bad
thing. In our quickly evolving technological world, we are all learners, and teachers who
are willing to share responsibility with students are more likely to be comfortable – and
effective – in a networked classroom.
This is where our education system can benefit from models in the youth engagement
sector, where young people are acknowledged as decision-makers, partners and
agents of social change, and adults assume the role of trusted guides and lifelong
learners alongside youth.[13]
 

Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum

Digital education has a place in nearly every course and subject. You can see
our Curriculum Charts to get specific information on how each of our lessons and
resources meets the curriculum of different courses in your province or territory. Here
are some ideas to get you started:
English Language Arts: This subject is where media literacy expectations have most
often been found, and those apply to digital media as well. Some of the most important
implications of our key concepts – like the idea that anyone can publish online – make
traditional media literacy skills more important than ever, but also require more up-to-
date ways of recognizing advertising, for example, and the ways that we’re susceptible
to bias.
Digital tech also provides enormous opportunities for creative media production. We
need to take advantage of those opportunities, while also making sure that our students
understand the ethical issues involved in it – as well as their own rights as
media creators.
Social Sciences: Finding and verifying information is at the heart of social science.
Teachers can explore the use of the Internet for research, including access to
uncensored information and alternative news sources. As with English, students can
also learn to distinguish bias, misinformation and propaganda in online content. In more
advanced classes like anthropology and psychology, students can learn how the values
of their online communities are shaped and how the features of online environments
shape our behaviour.
Civics: Digital platforms are the new arena for both online and offline civic participation,
and digital technology also offers students a chance to participate as full citizens in a
way that they can’t offline. Teaching them to be an active part of their online
communities – as well as to use digital tools to be involved offline – is essential to
prepare them to be fully engaged citizens when they’re older.
Careers: Students will need to learn that what they post online might be around for a
long time – and that they have some control over whether that reflects well or poorly on
them. As well, digital literacy skills such as communicating clearly, collaborating
remotely and managing information will be some of the most important and longest-
lasting job skills when students graduate.[16]
Health and Personal Development: Because digital tech is so central to young
people’s lives, no subject may need to integrate digital literacy more than health.
Traditional health topics like body image and sexual health education need to
incorporate digital literacy key concepts, as well as digital health issues such as “fear of
missing out” that are caused by persistence, shareability and
asynchronous communication.
Young people’s self-image is influenced by the photos of their peers – and themselves –
that they select, and often edit or manipulate, so carefully. As well, the line separating
them from the celebrities they admire – whose images are very definitely Photoshopped
– is largely gone, as they all participate in the same platforms like Instagram. Beyond
just body image, young people need to be able to ask questions about the ideals of
masculinity and femininity that they feel pressured to fit into on social media.
Young people’s health can also be affected by some of the features of digital media like
persistence and shareability, which can make it very hard to log off and give the
haunting feeling of “fear of missing out” – the idea that your friends are having a good
time online without you.
Finally, students need to understand some of the effects we’ve discussed that digital
media can have on relationships, as well as how to deal with them, and to understand
how ideas like respect and consent apply in the online context.
The Arts: As more and more artistic production is created or distributed through digital
media, arts courses also need to reflect the impacts of digital technology, such as how
platform architecture influences aesthetics and self-presentation, and the effects of
networked technology on arts industries and communities. The Internet has definitely
been a mixed blessing for most arts industries, but students need to understand those
changes – and be able to see what changes are coming – if they’re considering careers
in the arts.
Technology and ICT: Technology courses themselves need to adopt a wider view of
digital literacy and go beyond a focus on technical skills – which are likely to be obsolete
within a few years after students graduate – to a more critical understanding of digital
technology, and should expand from a focus on using technology to include
understanding and creating as well.
Promoting Digital Literacy in the Classroom
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Financial literacy among Filipinos   

The Filipino mindset upon receipt of salaries, as commonly-known, is that upon receipt
of salaries, spending comes in before saving. What is left, is saved. If there’s none left,
then, there’s nothing saved.
According to a study conducted by Philam Life, 96 percent of Filipinos are concerned
about their own and their family’s health, however, only 16 percent of them are prepared
to pay for medical costs in case they are diagnosed with a critical illness.9
There is a rising number of senior-dependents or those retirees who depend on their
children for financial help, due to lack of financial education.
Financial planning teaches individuals to be responsible when it comes to their finances,
and instills the discipline needed in order to keep track of their financial goals.9
Financial planning involves educating Filipinos on the different types of goals that they
should set: short-term, medium-term, and long-term. Short-term goals involve monthly
living expenses that need to be paid, or the person’s basic needs, including the setting-
up of an emergency fund.  In contrast, medium term goals are those you want to
achieve in one to five years like buying a house or a car, while long term goals are
those that take longer than five years to achieve.
To address the growing demand for more investments in the country, the financial
industry advises that Filipinos should save first and spend whatever is left after putting
their savings aside.
 
  
 
 
 
What can the government and financial institutions do to make Filipinos
financially-literate?
1. Develop financial education policies and set up robust financial products available to the
financial intermediaries and their customers.7
2. Develop financial education policies and set up robust financial consumer protection
frameworks to ensure that consumers are informed and understand the financial
products available to them.7
3. Involve financial service providers and other key stakeholders to build the financial
capabilities of the youth and adults through a variety of delivery channels. 8
4. Empower teenagers to deliver financial education on issues such as savings to younger
children. This peer-to-peer approach is useful because young people tend to listen to
their peers more than adults, and the participative approach helps foster youth as
agents of change in their own communities.8
Financial literacy programs can reduce economic inequalities as well as empowering
citizens and decreasing information asymmetries between financial intermediaries and
their customers. 8
------------------------------------------------
 
In his article "State of Financial Education in the Philippines, "Go (2017) indicated
several findings of researches with regards to the state of financial literacy in the
country including:
  World Bank study in 2014 estimated 20 million Filipinos saved more but
only half had baank accounts.
 Asian Development Bank (ADB) study in 2015 revealed that PH does not
have a national strategy for financial education and literacy.
 In 2016, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released the national strategy
for financial inclusion, stating that while institutions strive to broaden
financial literacy should also complement such initiatives.
 As per Standards & Poor's (S &P) Ratings services survey last year, only
25% of Filipinos are financially literate. T his means that about 75 million
Filipinos have no idea about inflation, risk divrsification, insurance,
compound interest and bank savings.
 Ten years after discovery of the stock market, still less than one percent of
PH population is invested in it.
 More than 80 percent of the working middle class have no formal financial
plan.
Because of these findings, public and private sectors alike have recognized the nedd to
strengthen financial education in the country. 
Last November 27-28, 2018 more than 1000 leaders, decision makers, influencers and
representatives from public and private  institutions, civic society, and the academe
gathered ti the first ever Financial Education Stakeholders Expo organized by BSP. 
The Expo is designed to build an organized network of playrs that share the vision of a
financially literate citizenry and cohesively implement a variety of initiatives to achieve
this vision.
The Expo supports Republic Act No. 10922 which designates second week of
November as Economic and Financial Literacy Week. It is also aligned with the
objectives of the Philippine National Strategy for Financial inclusion, particularly the
pillar on Financial Education and Consumer Protection.
DEVELOPING PERSONAL LITERACY
One's attitude about money is heavily influenced by the parents' attitude and behavior
about money. The attitudes you formed early in life probably affect how you save,
spend, and invest today. 
Do you behave similarly or differently from your parents about handling money?
There are six major characteristic types in how people view money (Incharge, 2017).
FRUGAL - Frugal people seek financial security by living below their means and saving
money. They rarely buy luxurious items: they save money instead. They save money
because they believe that money will offer protection from unprecedented events and
expenses.
PLEASURE - Pleasure seekers use money to bring pleasure to themselves and to
others. They are more likely to spend than to save. they often live beyond their means
and spend more than they earn. If they are not careful and do not change, they may fall
into deep debt.

STATUS - Some people use money to express their social status. They likely to
purchase and "show off their branded items.
INDIFFERENCE - Some people place very little importance on having money and
would rather grow their own food and craft their own clothes. it is as if having too much
money makes them nervous and uncomfortable.

POWERFUL - Powerful people use money to express power or control over others.

SELF-WORTH - People who spend money for self-worth value how much they
accumulate and tend to judge others based on the amount of money they have.