There are conflicting opinions on the effectiveness of financial education; on one hand, there is a view that there is no definitive proof that financial education programmes lead to greater financial knowledge and ultimately to better financial behaviour. Contrary to this is the view that financial education does indeed benefit individuals and society as a whole, leading to better financial decisions and therefore greater financial responsibility. It can be argued that lack of proof of the effectiveness of financial education is caused by the modernity of the subject; unlike other school curriculum subjects financial literacy hasn’t yet been embedded in the mindsets of the learners for long enough periods for the information to properly anchor itself. Furthermore, financial education initiatives have so far been made available sporadically. The subject simply has not been delivered in any curriculum on a long-term basis to be able to test just how effective financial education is.
However, there is clear evidence of years of poor financial education. The 2015 UK Financial Capability survey, conducted by the Money Advice Service, highlighted the sheer scale of the difficulties that many adults across the UK face in terms of savings and debt. 17% of UK adults are now over-indebted, while only four in ten have a savings buffer of at least £500. As of September 2016, personal debt in the UK now stands at £1.5 trillion.
Support for financial education amongst teachers is extremely high; 94% of secondary school teachers agreed or strongly agreed that financial education gives students an essential life skill, and 95% of teachers feel it is important or very important.
The question of the effectiveness of financial education can be answered simply; any level of education on the subject cannot possibly be detrimental. Increasing the nation’s financial literacy levels is a long-term project and it needs to be measured as such. Measuring financial literacy levels after such a short time will paint an inaccurate picture of what has and will be achieved. After all, a person can’t expect to be able to speak fluent Spanish after only one lesson. We teach to educate, to improve knowledge on a chosen subject. Using this principle, we can indeed determine that greater levels of financial education will produce greater levels of financial literacy and therefore responsibility. The implications of leaving financial education to chance are potentially disastrous.