Financial education in the UK: A case study of practice

Abstract

This chapter addresses the growing concern that in many countries we see very low levels of financial capability. This is particularly worrying given the increased financial responsibility that people face, even at a young age. The complexity and importance of the financial decisions that people are being asked to make necessitate financial education to ensure that people are able to make informed decisions in their own best interest. The chapter illustrates the importance of financial education taking place from a young age and proposes some measures to make sure it is as effective as possible. In addition to putting the work within a UK economic and education context, the chapter stresses the importance of information, guidance, support, training and professional development for teachers and other practitioners. Making financial education a statutory element of the curriculum gives schools a clear mandate for including financial education within their teaching and learning programmes. However from the UK experience this is not a driver of good practice.