A survey released Thursday by Investor Education Fund (IEF) finds overwhelming parental support for classroom-based financial literacy learning in Ontario.
Most Ontario parents (84 per cent) say it is important; more than half (53 per cent) say it is extremely important — even if they’re already teaching their kids about money matters.
The Parental interest in financial literacy study (available on GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca) also reveals that more than one-quarter (28 per cent) of parents believe financial education is not currently offered in high schools and more than half (53 per cent) said they don’t know if it is offered or not.
Financial literacy education was introduced in the Ontario school curriculum for grades 4-12 in fall 2012.
“This study reveals how strong the appetite for formal financial literacy education is among parents of Ontario high school students,” says IEF President Tom Hamza. “It also shows that we need to better support Ontario teachers in getting financial lessons into their classes.”
In order to accomplish this, IEF also announced the launch of three resources for financial literacy:
> Mind Over Money Educator Academy:
IEF offers free personal and professional development workshops for Ontario educators teaching grades 4-12 through the Mind Over Money Educator Academy.
> InspireFinancialLearning.ca website:
Complementing the launch of the new teacher training program, the website provides free curriculum-based interdisciplinary lesson plans, videos and activities suitable for students in grades 4-12.
> Mind Over Money student video contest:
This contest is designed to encourage teens to get inspired about financial learning, The contest for Ontario students in grades 4-12 will run until Jan. 31, 2014, and the winner of each grade group will receive a $250 gift certificate to use towards school supplies.
The IEF study was based on 500 online interviews conducted by The Brondesbury Group with Ontario parents of high school students in September.