According to the definition of authoritative organizations, financial literacy refers to the knowledge and understanding of financial concepts and risks, as well as the skills, motivation and confidence to apply these knowledge and understanding, so that individuals can make effective decisions in various financial situations, improve economic interests and run their lives for a long time.
The definition of financial literacy is two levels. The first level focuses on the accumulation of knowledge and skills, mainly referring to the mastery and learning of relevant knowledge; The second level is the purpose and application, that is, the application of knowledge and skills, as well as the attitude and values of individuals in the application process.
What are the contents of financial literacy education?
Financial literacy education is a new thing in China, but it has a long history in some developed countries. As a part of civic education, it has a history of hundreds of years in some countries. Later, everyone thought that economic education was too important, so they included it and became economic education. Later, everyone felt that economic education was not enough, so we should add more, such as finance and business administration.
Generally speaking, financial literacy education mainly involves economics, finance, management and other disciplines, and is integrated with personal decision-making, forming the basic content of financial literacy education we see now.
The connotation of financial literacy education defined by PISA includes four aspects.
The first is the content, that is, what kind of knowledge you need to learn and what kind of thinking you need to form, which is the basic part of the whole financial literacy.
The second is the process, which is mainly a cognitive process of understanding, analyzing and reasoning by identifying and applying specific concepts. Specifically, it focuses on some basic skills used in personal financial decisions. When we make a decision, we usually collect screening information, plan and have goals, and then make a decision. This decision is a process of choice. After the choice, we have to evaluate the result. This is the process.
The third is the background. Financial literacy is different from other knowledge. A very important difference is that financial literacy is closely related to specific scenarios and tasks, which requires us to have a very strong ability to transfer knowledge and skills, and can be well combined with the actual situation. For example, when we study savings, we should closely combine it with personal savings needs and savings behavior.
The fourth is non-cognitive factors. It is not enough to master knowledge, skills and combination with practice. We also need to cultivate personality traits related to finance and economics, such as motivation, confidence, sense of responsibility and outlook on money.
The Significance of Financial Literacy Education
It is worth emphasizing that financial literacy education is not only about how to manage money, how to manage money, but also about the thinking and methods of resource management, including the effective management of various resources including money, time, energy and skills. It is a good way to cultivate ability. Specifically, financial literacy education can enable us to cultivate a sense of responsibility, form good habits, make decisions and choices confidently and rationally, face life positively and optimistically, and finally realize the shaping of values.
Financial literacy education shapes values. Through money, which everyone comes into contact with every day, children can better understand the relationship between individuals and families, individuals and collectives, and individuals and society.
The significance of financial literacy education is not only to learn knowledge, but more importantly, to use economic management thinking to think and solve problems, form good behavior habits, and prepare in advance for adapting to the increasingly demanding social environment in the future.
Financial knowledge education in other countries in the world
Speaking of Jews, people are generally deeply impressed that they are good at making money, and in fact they are. Let's look at a set of numbers. Jews account for only 0.2% of the world's total population, but 27% of the Nobel Prize winners were born. Jews in the United States account for only 2%, but they own 70% of the wealth of the United States, producing one-third of famous American university professors, accounting for 60% of the first-class American writers of literature, drama and music. Why did Jews succeed? There may be many factors, but one of them is that basically every Jew, from the family level, has received a good financial literacy education since childhood.
American parents attach great importance to financial literacy education. They call financial literacy education "a happy life plan realized from the age of three", and financial literacy is regarded as a core life ability. Many families let their children take part in labor since childhood, let them understand that wealth is hard to come by and can only be obtained through hard work, encourage their children to work to earn money at an early age, and take pocket money and living expenses themselves, so that children can learn to stand on their own feet as soon as possible. In life, they will guide children how to spend reasonably, take them shopping, make shopping lists, teach them how to compare prices, how to find good and cheap goods and so on.
In the United States, the goal of financial literacy training for children of different ages is very clear. For example, at the age of 3, let children know about coins and their value, and gradually distinguish between needs and wants; At the age of 7, I began to look at the price tag, compare prices, and save money in my account; Make an expenditure plan at the age of 9; /kloc-at the age of 0/0, let children know about financial products, and even open an account for their children to buy and sell stocks. Through these practical operations, children can understand the financial situation and investment of the whole family and participate in family financial decisions. Let children's financial awareness be cultivated and improved, and at the same time increase their sense of responsibility.
In fact, not only the United States, but also more than 20 countries have taken financial literacy education as a national strategy and incorporated it into the national basic education system. Since 20 12, the PISA (International Student Assessment Program) of the World Economic Cooperation Organization has also added financial literacy to the assessment, which has become an important indicator for evaluating students' quality.
How to cultivate children's financial literacy from the perspective of family? What can parents do?
The first is to let children know about money and manage money.
My son is eight years old. I had a headache when he was about 5 years old. He especially likes two things, one is a dinosaur and the other is a gyroscope. At that time, there were about one hundred dinosaurs in our family, and there were thirty or forty gyroscopes, large and small, many of which were repetitive. Once he went to the mall and wanted to buy another dinosaur, so I made up my mind to change from this time on. I told him to limit it in the future and give him pocket money every month, which can only be spent on. After a long struggle, he accepted
After that, the situation changed. I was particularly impressed that once his fancy dinosaurs, each with more than 200 pieces, exceeded his quota. He asked me what to do, and I said three solutions-first, save money before buying it; Second, buy cheap ones; Third, borrow money, but pay interest. He later chose a 90-plus, but he told me, "After careful comparison, I found that this function is similar to that of more than 200." I am so happy to buy this. " In this way, he learned to shop around.
The second is the training of practical skills.
When we go to the supermarket to buy things or travel, we try to involve our children in the plan. When making a travel plan, what is the budget, where is the most suitable place to go, etc. At the skill level, how to interpret information, set goals, make choices, and evaluate results. In fact, in daily life, we can all do it with our children.
Third, conduct personality education.
It is found that financial education that only pays attention to knowledge transfer has a low effect on children's behavior change, while personality education related to financial decision-making has a significant impact on children's behavior change, such as money outlook, decision-making confidence, sense of responsibility, control, long-term planning habits and so on. Therefore, more and more emphasis is placed on integrating personality education into financial literacy education, not just imparting knowledge. In the specific methods of implementing financial education, some representative methods are summarized. For example, for younger children, you can tell stories. Now picture books are all about cost, money, economy, division of labor and so on. And the children are also very interested. Older children can simulate scenes, such as using tokens to let him gradually understand the concept of finance and economics; Then you can take your child to open a bank account and make goals and plans with him. When I was a teenager, I took my children to visit the bank. Let children shop independently, plan their trips, and even organize some activities and participate in projects.
In short, as long as parents pay attention to it, they can always find opportunities for education in their daily lives.