Secondary school students across Australia will be taught about the financial principles of planning, saving, spending, donating and investing wisely as part of a program developed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Funded by the Australian Government, ASIC’s MoneySmart Teaching Secondary package will be launched in Adelaide next Tuesday (11 December) at a national conference for secondary school teachers.
‘ASIC’s MoneySmart Teaching program will equip younger generations with the skills and behaviours to make responsible financial decisions, but to do this, teachers and parents need the tools to help them understand money’, said ASIC Commissioner Peter Kell.
ASIC’s MoneySmart Teaching Secondary package will be trialled by teachers from term 1, 2013, and uses financial literacy as a context for learning in mathematics, science and English. All units of work are aligned to the Australian Curriculum and have been developed for students in Years 7–10.
‘MoneySmart Teaching emphasises that consumer literacy and financial literacy are interdependent. The classroom units address some of the immediate issues facing young people like buying a mobile phone or purchasing goods online. MoneySmart Teaching aims to help young people meet real-life challenges through education which is relevant to their lives’, said Mr Kell.
‘Today, three out of four children own a mobile phone by the time they start secondary school. In one of our maths units of work, How can we reduce our spending?, Year 7 students learn about saving money by buying ‘smart’ and comparing mobile phone plans ensuring that their mobile phone costs remain within budget.’
Head of Department (Business), Jason Knight, whose Kings Christian College is in the MoneySmart Teaching program, said students will benefit from early opportunities to understand money and apply that knowledge with confidence.
‘Our students need to understand how money works and how bad decisions can actually lead to long-term consequences. We need to give them the building blocks now so that they make wise decisions throughout life’, Mr Knight said.
ASIC’s MoneySmart Teaching Secondary package marks the second phase of a trial to improve consumer and financial literacy in schools. Resources for primary schools were released in August 2012 and are being trialled in 58 schools nationally. For more details on the launch into primary schools, see ASIC’s previous media release.
ASIC’s secondary package will be trialled in approximately 35 secondary Government, Independent and Catholic schools across Australia. Face-to-face professional learning will be delivered to approximately 2,000 secondary school teachers. Online professional learning will be available to all teachers via the MoneySmart Teaching website.
ASIC is also developing a range of online digital activities, freely available, to create engaging and fun learning in the classroom and at home. These resources will be available on the MoneySmart Teaching website in early 2013.
To find out more about the units of work for secondary schools, please refer to the overview attached. For more information about ASIC’s MoneySmart Teaching program and to access resources, visit www.teaching.moneysmart.gov.au. A list of MoneySmart trial schools is on the website.
Background
ASIC’s MoneySmart Teaching packages for primary and secondary schools are part of the $10 million Helping Our Kids Understand Finances (HOKUF) initiative to improve financial literacy in schools announced by the Australian Government in August 2010.
ASIC has entered into national partnership agreements with five jurisdictions, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and the ACT. Permission has been given by education departments in Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory for ASIC to work directly with schools and teachers ensuring that MoneySmart Teaching is trialled nationally.
Overview of MoneySmart Teaching Units of Work – Secondary
Mathematics
|
Year |
Unit title |
Unit description |
|---|---|---|
|
7 |
How can we reduce our spending? |
Mia’s family want to spend less on their household expenses, including groceries. Mia’s brother Alex needs a new wheelchair. To get one with some special features costs more than the family can afford at present. They want to save money by buying smart. One way of doing this is to look at savings they can make using comparative shopping. If they put away the money they save each week then by the end of the year they hope to have saved the difference between a basic wheelchair and one with special features. In this unit, students examine the concept of comparative shopping in two different contexts – grocery shopping and mobile phone plans. This provides opportunities for mathematical investigation and includes some homework and assessment opportunities. By the end of the unit students will have investigated the unit pricing of a variety of grocery items and related these understandings to mobile phone plans. Students will need to understand the use of different measurements, including those related to the comparative size of different data downloads. Students will perform calculations related to mobile calls, messaging and data downloads, based on unit price to ensure that mobile phone costs remain within budget. Enduring Understandings/Deep Learnings
|
|
8 |
How can we access money overseas? |
Maria’s Japanese language class is going on an excursion to Japan. Among other activities, they will visit the moneyless markets in Kaminoseki, a small town in the Kumage District. These are markets where people exchange items but no money is used. Maria will take some cash with her for her expenses but Maria’s grandmother wants her to be able to access money overseas. This would be especially important if there is an emergency. Maria’s friends and family are excited about her trip. A few friends have asked her to buy some products for them while she is Japan – but only if the products are cheaper than in Australia. Maria is wondering how she can work out relative prices. In this unit, students explore the concepts of currency and currency conversion in the context of overseas travel. This context provides opportunities for several mathematical investigations and includes a range of tasks and assessment opportunities. By the end of the unit students will have investigated the need for currency, performed currency conversions and performed calculations related to common fees and charges on financial products. In addition, a second task challenges students to work out the advantages and disadvantages of operating in markets that do not use money. Enduring Understandings/Deep Learnings
|
|
9 |
How can we obtain more money? |
Alistair and Bonnie are Year 9 students who would like to earn some money. They investigate different ways of earning money including getting a job and then allowing that money to grow by using simple interest. They also investigate the effects of inflation and its influence on decision making around financial goals. In this unit, students assess the advantages and disadvantages of different ways of obtaining money, including different ways of getting paid. They investigate the number of hours per week that Year 9 students work, perform simple interest calculations, calculate earnings based on rates of pay and commission, and investigate the way that prices change over time. Enduring Understandings/Deep Learnings
|
|
10 |
Reaching goals: What’s involved? |
Cathy and Dinuka are Year 10 students who are planning to go on a holiday together after they finish school at the end of Year 12. They will need some money to fund their holiday. Planning for the holiday leads to them to think about financial planning – goal setting, saving, borrowing, investing, working with compound interest, good and bad credit, depreciation and inflation. In this unit students investigate the effects of compound interest, derive the compound interest formula and apply it in a variety of contexts that have implications for financial planning. While this unit doesn’t describe the process of financial planning, the considerations encountered are a pre-requisite for any further work in constructing a financial plan. Enduring Understandings/Deep Learnings
|
Science
|
Year |
Unit title |
Unit description |
|---|---|---|
|
7 |
Should I drink bottled water? |
This unit gives students opportunities to develop an understanding of the importance of water for the environment and potable water for human consumption. They will consider water availability and use from an individual, national and international perspective. They will explain the natural processes in the water cycle that enable clean water to be obtained and the processes humans carry out to treat water so that it is potable. Students will understand the cost of drinking bottled water compared to tap water. The environmental impact of bottled water and factors that impact on consumer choices will be considered. Students may be given the opportunity to fundraise for an organisation such as Water Wells for Africa (WWFA), possibly with money saved by drinking water from bubblers or reusable bottles. Enduring Understandings/Deep Learnings
|
|
8 |
Light up the Globe! |
This unit will help students make the right choice from the wide range of light globes now available. Their choice will be based on cost, value for money, life span of globe, light output and energy used. Students will gain an understanding of how light output and electricity (energy) consumption are measured. They will use a light meter to compare light emitted from a variety of light globes, for example, incandescent, fluorescent and halogen. They will then use the consumer information on the light globes to compare the electric power that would be used to run the light globe for 100 hours. The data collected will be processed so that students conclude which light globe is their preferred choice. They will justify their choice by presenting a pamphlet promoting their choice of light globe. Enduring Understandings/Deep Learnings
|
English
|
Year |
Unit title |
Unit description |
|---|---|---|
|
9 |
Could I live 'smaller'? |
Students will explore personal consumer choices and the idea of living small. They will investigate and research the influences and impact of a consumer society on teenagers' choices and decision making. They will explore concepts of personal consumer choices related to needs and wants, shopping online and ways of living 'small'. Each student will plan, develop, and deliver a multimodal presentation about living small. Students will engage in the processes of listening, speaking, reading, viewing, writing and creating to enhance and enrich the learning experience. The unit is designed to address the Year 9 Australian Curriculum: English and National Consumer and Financial Literacy Framework. Enduring Understandings/Deep Learnings
|
|
10 |
Teens Talk Money |
In this unit students will research and investigate consumer and financial literacy topics. Students will then present the results of their research and investigations in producing a simulation of a TV Talk show for teenagers, Teens Talk Money. They will work collaboratively in small groups to present their findings related to part-time employment, buying a car, savings and record keeping. They will examine matters of shopping online and payment. Teens Talk Money is an informative, entertaining and fast moving TV talk show for teenagers by teenagers. Students are part of a team that produces the show and ‘broadcast’ it live. They will be allocated roles and responsibilities that parallel those on a real TV Talk Show. The show has interviews, a quiz, panel discussions and expert commentaries. The unit is designed to address the Year 10 Australian Curriculum and National Consumer and Financial Literacy Framework. It can be modified depending on the number of students, roles and TV show segments. Enduring Understandings/Deep Learnings
|