Given the expected advantages for individuals and societies, financial literacy is high on the policy agenda in many countries. This paper reports the results from a unique survey conducted on a sample of 13–16-year-old students in five European countries, aimed at measuring and comparing their level of financial literacy skills. The results indicate significant differences in the level of financial literacy across countries that are interpreted in the light of the differences in the countries’ educational policies and experiences with financial education. The findings suggest that supra-national coordinated action is needed to guarantee better financial knowledge and safeguard economic stability in future crises.
We examined levels of financial literacy (knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and self-reported behavior) among 15-year-old high school students in the Netherlands (N=2025), and investigated which factors are associated with the different financial literacy components. Our findings show lower levels of financial literacy among students in the lowest track in high school, students with low mathematical ability, immigrant students, students with low SES, students with mothers without a university degree, and students who do not discuss financial matters with family and peers. Notably, our findings show a large gap in financial knowledge levels between the lowest and highest high-school tracks in the Netherlands. These findings are useful for designing effective financial education and intervention programs, and for identifying groups that may benefit the most from financial education programs.
We provide evidence on the relationship between four different aspects of Financial Literacy: Financial knowledge, attitudes towards money, self-efficacy, and financial behavior. Ninth-grade high school students (N = 2,025) in 22 schools and in four different educational tracks in the western part of the Netherlands took part in the survey. A multilevel analysis at school and individual level was applied. Findings show that financial behavior is highly associated with attitudes towards money as well as financial knowledge. Attitudes towards money, in turn, are associated with financial behavior and financial knowledge. Furthermore, financial knowledge is related to attitudes to-wards money and financial behavior. In order to improve financial behavior among high-school students, financial education programs should have a holistic approach and address all aspects of Financial Literacy.
CRYPTOPOLIS is a project supported by EU which focuses on the financial management knowledge of teachers and the emerging field of risk management and risk analysis of cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency has shown to be a vital and rapidly growing component in today’s digital economy therefore there is a need to include not just financial but also crypto literacy into the schools. Beside multiple investors and traders the market is attracting an increasing number of young individuals, viewing it as an easy way to make money. A large pool of teenagers and young adults want to hop on this train, but a lack of cryptocurrency literacy, as well as financial literacy in general amongst youth, together with their inexperience with investing makes them even more vulnerable to an already high-risk investment.Therefore, we aim to increase the capacity and readiness of secondary schools and higher educational institutions to manage an effective shift towards digital education in the field of crypto and financial literacy. The project will develop the purposeful use of digital technologies in financial and crypto education for teaching, learning, assessment and engagement.
