By Angela Martin
There are many things which influence a child’s capacity to learn. Family dynamics, peer group, school environment, and community are all important factors. As the old adage goes ‘it takes a village’ to raise a child.
When it comes to financial knowledge, if a child does not have the support of their ‘village’ to develop their long-term financial knowledge, it is vital that schools step in to provide equity in education. The United Nations has even highlighted the importance of universal numeracy skills in their Global Sustainable Development Goals.
Presently the Victorian Department of Education and other relevant bodies determine the curriculum in schools which for the most part is quite saturated. Unfortunately, this does not include compulsory, comprehensive and relevant financial literacy education for all students. Therefore, it is the staff and leadership at schools that affect how students are exposed to this knowledge.
The Money Mentor Job Ready program has been designed to fill this gap based on extensive research undertaken with Victoria University, parents, and students. It educates students in middle secondary schools about essential work and finance skills. Learning how to use their income wisely to develop long-term money management habits will help them achieve their financial goals with a positive financial trajectory.
The same content is provided to all participating schools regardless of socio-economic status. Equity in education is not something that one individual can change. It is the efforts of parents, communities, businesses, and government bodies coming together to establish policies which enable all students from all socio-economic areas to receive basic essential financial life skills.
Ask your school if they have a financial literacy program in place, and if not reach out to the Money Mentor program to find out more. We encourage your school and all schools to incorporate this content in their coursework to ensure equity in education.
Visit: moneymentor.org.au
Email: angela@moneymentor.org.au
