Jane and Julie spent time with me discussing their Global Money Week (which is actually Financial Literacy Month and occurs in November) and a variety of programs that support schools in implementing the financial literacy curriculum. While this is different in each of the provinces, it is mandatory for schools provide financial literacy education.
In Financial Literacy Month in 2017, 808 events and resources from 43 organisations were entered into the Canadian Financial Literacy Database. There were more than half a million impressions to the FCAC Facebook and Twitter accounts, and 5.4 million exposures to print, radio and television mentions. Parliament, including the Prime Minister, actively supported Financial Literacy Month, and the 5th National Conference was well attended and well evaluated. Some of the activities described included a focus on budgeting, money fairs, speeches, essay competitions (including one about 'The Dumbest Thing I Did With My Money'), scholarship awards, and a presentation by comedian James Cunningham called 'Funny Money'.
Jane also described some of the school curriculum support available. One resource, 'The City', has been highly acclaimed by teachers. There are plans to update this in the near future. Some workbooks on Financial Basics have been developed by FCAC, and they have their own YouTube channel, popular with High School students . There is also a program called 'Talk with our Kids about Money' that is helpful to both teachers and parents. Visa have created online resources and some games to improve financial understanding (see pictures below) and one province publishes a free text for each student to support their financial literacy (also below). Another province (Nova Scotia) has introduced a compulsory 'Citizenship" subject in Grade 9 to cover financial literacy (among other things).
Canada has world leading results in PISA testing in financial literacy, and Jane believes there are 3 important factors; most students in Canada have bank accounts, they earn money from an early age, and financial literacy topics are discussed in the home.
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