Teachers’ Background & Capacity to Teach

Personal Finance:

Results of a National Study

Wendy L. Way, Ph.D., Professor & Associate Dean

School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Karen Holden, Ph.D., Professor

School of Human Ecology & Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ue full report is available at www.nefe.org/tntfinalreport.

©2010 National Endowment for Financial Education. All rights reserved.
2

Introduction

Teachers are pivotal to the success of financial education efforts. And while public awareness of

the need for financial education has been growing rapidly in recent years, very little is known

about the needs and characteristics of the teachers who are called upon to deliver this education

in the classroom.

Since a single accepted certification to teach financial education does not exist, teachers from

diverse backgrounds—from elementary education teachers to secondary teachers specializing in

vocational/technical education, social studies, or math—are being tapped to teach financial

education topics that they may know very little about. In addition, it is widely recognized that

teacher salaries are generally lower than other professionals with comparable education and

responsibilities, adding a personal economic challenge to those individuals who are charged with

teaching financial education to our nation’s youth.

How do these financial issues affect our K–12 teachers? And how prepared are these educators

from diverse backgrounds to teach personal finance? Uese are the questions that Wendy L. Way,

Ph.D., and Karen Holden, Ph.D., from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, examined in “Teachers’

Background and Capacity to Teach Personal Finance,” a two-year national study funded by the

National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®) and completed in March 2009.

Highlights of Findings

2

80 percent of

states have

adopted

personal

finance

education

standards or

guidelines of

some kind, up

from 42 percent

in 1998

63.8 percent

of teachers

feel unqualified

to utilize

their state’s

financial

literacy

standards

89 percent

of teachers

agree or

strongly agree

that students

should take

a financial

literacy course

or pass a test

for high school

graduation

Only

29.7 percent

of teachers

are teaching

financial

education in

any way—

in existing

classes or

special classes

on finance

topics

Only

37 percent

of K–12

teachers

had taken

a college

course

in personal

finance

Only

11.6 percent

of K–12

teachers

had taken

a workshop

on teaching

personal

finance

Less than

20 percent

of teachers

reported

feeling very

competent

to teach any

of the six

personal

finance

topics

surveyed

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%
3

About this Study

More than 1,200 K–12 teachers, prospective teachers currently enrolled in teacher education

programs, and teacher education faculty completed online surveys for this study. Respondents

were asked 30 multi-part questions about their training and education in personal finance, their

opinions about the importance of financial education, and their capacity to teach these topics.

Respondents also were asked about their own personal financial concerns and their experience in

dealing with personal finance issues outside the classroom.

To achieve a sample representative of the United States in its diversity of populations and state

personal finance teaching standards, two states from each of the U.S. census regions were selected,

for a total of eight states represented in the study.

NEFE delivered survey requests via e-mail and respondents logged on to the project Web site at the

University of Wisconsin-Madison to complete the survey. All K–12 teacher respondents were from

public school districts within the eight states, and all prospective teachers and teacher education

faculty were from the selected universities shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Participating States and Universities

Western Region

California State University-Fullerton

Colorado State University

Midwest Region

Iowa State University

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Northeast Region

Rutgers University

Pennsylvania State University

Southeast Region

University of Georgia

Virginia Tech
4

Within the eight states, the surveyors selected public school districts that could supply teacher

e-mail addresses in small, medium, and large cities. K–12 teachers were surveyed from three schools

in each district (one elementary, one middle, and one high school), for a total of nine schools in each

of the eight states studied.

Ue survey garnered a total of 1,234 usable responses from 72 schools, as shown in Table 2.

Ue elementary teachers surveyed were used as the reference group because their backgrounds

rarely involve training in personal finance. Comparing the other teachers to the reference group

shows where other teachers deviate from the norm.

Table 2: Total Number of Respondents and Response Rate.

Demographic information of the respondents—including age, gender, years of teaching experience,

race, marital status, and highest degrees achieved (K–12 teachers and education faculty) or planned

(prospective teachers)—is shown in Table 3 on page 5.

More than 1,200

K–12 teachers, prospective

teachers, and teacher education

faculty representing four U.S.

census regions responded

to questions about their personal

and educational backgrounds

in financial education.

Total Responses Number of Respondents Response Rate1

Prospective Teachers 627 17%

K–12 Teachers 504 15%

Education Faculty 103 17.7%

Total 1,234

1

Percent of all e-mails sent out
5

Table 3: Demographics of Survey Respondents

Prospective K–12 Education National

Teachers Teachers Faculty Averages1

Median Age 23 43 50 46

% Female 85.1% 71.3% 56.9% 75.0%

% Male 14.9% 28.7% 43.1% 25.0%

Years of Teaching

Experience NA 10 0.6 14

Race

White 85.7% 83.9% 91.0% 83.1%

Black 1.6% 9.3% 4.0% 7.9%

Hispanic 6.3% 3.6% 1.0% 6.2%

Other (American Indian,

Asian, Pacific Islander) 6.4% 3.0% 3.9% 2.7%

Marital Status

Married/Partnered/

Significant Other 17.4% 71.2% 83.1% 73.1%

Never Married 15.2% 81.4% 14.6% 5.0%

Divorced/Widowed/Other 1.3% 13.3% 11.9% 11.7%

Highest Degree Achieved

(K–12 Teachers or Education

Faculty) or Planned

(Prospective Teachers)

Bachelor’s 70.3% 45.8% 0% 43.1%

Master's or Specialist 16.8% 51.8% 12.8% 56.0%

Doctorate 0% 1.7% 87.2% 0.8%

Other (including less than

Bachelor’s degree) 1.5% 0.8% NA 0.2%

Certification Only 11.4% NA NA NA

Notes:

1

Source: Gender and Race: NCES (2007d) Table 11; Marital Status: NCES (2007c)

Table 66; Years of Teaching Experience.

NA = not available.
6

Finding No. 1: Teachers recognize the need for

financial education

Teachers clearly believed that financial education should be taught to students, especially in high

school. In the survey responses, the majority of teachers, prospective teachers, and education

faculty agreed that financial education should be taught in high school. To a lesser degree, teachers

and prospective teachers believed it is appropriate for middle school; fewer still thought it should

be taught in elementary school (see Table 4). Much higher percentages of education faculty

(compared to K–12 teachers or prospective teachers) believed that financial education should be

taught in elementary and middle school grades.

Table 4: At What Grade Level Should Financial Education be Taught?

Most teachers see financial education as appropriate for higher grades, with

lesser importance for elementary school children.

A significant percentage of K–12 teachers— 89 percent —agree that students

should take a financial education course or pass a test for high school graduation.

A majority of teachers are at least moderately supportive of incorporating

financial education into their subject areas.
7

In addition to believing that financial education should be taught in high school, a majority of K–12

teachers (89 percent) strongly or moderately agreed that students should either be required to take

a financial education course or pass a financial literacy test for high school graduation. Consistent

with their beliefs about the age-appropriate nature of the topics, 51.4 percent of K–12 teachers

strongly or moderately agreed that financial education is too complicated for elementary school

children (see Table 5).

Prospective teachers, 42 percent of whom are preparing to teach elementary school, professed

similar opinions. Ue high percentage who believed that financial education is too complicated

for young children is a potential challenge to the introduction of personal finance at the lower

grade levels.

Table 5: Respondents’ Opinions About Financial Education for Elementary and

High School Students

While the education faculty were less supportive of high school courses and testing (79.4 percent),

they strongly disagreed that these topics are too complicated for elementary school children. In fact,

only 16.7 percent of education faculty strongly or moderately agreed that financial education is too

complicated for elementary school children. Uis suggests a more favorable view among education

faculty of the capacity of young children to grasp personal finance concepts, but a more negative

view of required coursework or testing to ensure that learning at any grade.

Few K–12 teachers (only 10.1 percent) or education faculty (7 percent) saw financial education

as something that should be a major part of their own subject matter area. But a majority of

teachers (79.7 percent) and education faculty (72 percent) were at least moderately supportive of

incorporating financial education into their subject areas. Much smaller percentages (43.8 percent

for teachers and 32 percent for education faculty) believed that teachers are well prepared to do so.
8

Finding No. 2: Few teachers currently are teaching

financial literacy

Only 29.7 percent of K–12 teachers have taught financial education topics.

Having taken a personal finance course for credit is an important predictor of

teaching personal finance.

Only 37 percent of K–12 teachers had taken a college course with financial

education–related topics.

Most financial education is delivered by integration into other disciplinary

courses, rather than in separate, stand-alone courses.

Teachers with backgrounds in vocational/technical education, social studies,

and math are more likely than others to teach financial education topics.

Prospective

teachers are no

more likely to have

taken a course in

financial education

than teachers who

have completed

their degrees many

years earlier.
9

In order to understand teachers’ educational backgrounds in personal finance and their experiences

in teaching financial education topics in the schools, respondents were asked what personal finance

courses they had taken in college (and high school for the prospective teachers), what non-credit

workshops or seminars they had attended, and what, if any, personal finance courses they

had taught.

As shown in Table 6, 37 percent of teachers and 30.8 percent of prospective teachers had taken a

college course in personal finance for credit. Ue courses most frequently cited were economics or

consumer education. Only a few teachers (2.6 percent) and prospective teachers (0.3 percent)

had taken a methods course on teaching personal finance. Interestingly, these data suggest little

change in emphasis on teachers’ training in personal finance content. Prospective teachers are

not more likely to have taken a course with personal finance-related content in college than have

current K–12 teachers who have completed their degrees (some many years earlier).

When K–12 teachers were asked about non-credit workshops taken in the last three years, less than

20 percent had taken one on either content or teaching methodology regarding personal finance.

Table 6: Formal Education in Financial Education Topics for K–12 Teachers and

Prospective Teachers

Study data suggest that

teachers recognize

the importance of

financial education.
Prospective Teachers K–12 Teachers

Financial Education

Consulted with professional financial planner 11.8% 50.4%

Consulted benefits specialist at work 5.6% 33.8%

Attended workplace presentation on financial topic 9.4% 23.3%

10

Formal education is a predictor of teachers’ own perceived competence to teach specific topics,

so the fact that teachers are acquiring little formal education in personal finance is important. As

states increasingly call for more attention to curricula and/or testing in personal finance, the data

suggests that teacher education curricula needs to reflect those additional requirements.

Although few of the K–12 teachers reported having taken formal courses or workshops on financial

education topics, they have sought out financial information through more informal avenues and

for the purpose of addressing their own financial well-being, as shown in Table 7. About half had

consulted a financial planner, one-third had consulted a benefits specialist at their workplace, and

nearly one-fourth had attended a workplace presentation on a financial topic. Not surprisingly,

prospective teachers were much less likely to have engaged in these practices, although nearly

12 percent had consulted a financial planner. Uese data suggest that K–12 teachers recognize the

importance of financial education and seek it out for specific purposes, rather than study it in a

more formal way.

Table 7: Informal Education in Financial Education Topics.

Formal education is a predictor

of teachers’ own perceived

competence to teach specific

financial topics, so the fact that teachers

are acquiring little formal education in personal

finance is important.
11

According to the study, some teachers shape their ideas of what personal finance is and

should be through their own personal financial experiences, rather than through professional

development focused on how to teach with methods and materials appropriate for the diverse

body of K–12 students.

Ue percentage of K–12 teachers and education faculty who have taught a course in personal

finance are similar: 29.7 percent for K–12 teachers and 27.4 percent for education faculty (see

Table 8). Of the K–12 teachers who have taught financial education topics, 25.5 percent reported

that they integrated financial education topics into a regularly offered credit course rather than

offering a separate, stand-alone course.

How does a teacher’s background relate to the likelihood that he or she will take or teach a formal

course with personal finance content? Gender and subject matter background are the only

statistically significant predictors of the probability of having taken a for-credit course with

personal finance content:

• Female teachers were about half as likely as male teachers to have taken a formal course

related to personal finance.

• Social studies teachers were more than three- and-a-half times more likely than the reference

group to have taken a formal course related to personal finance.

• Vocational/technical education teachers were nearly five times more likely than the reference

group of elementary education teachers to have taken such a course.

• Ue concentration in vocational/technical education and social studies is consistent with the

traditional expectation that those teachers would teach in the content areas of personal finance.

• In terms of teaching, those who have taken a personal finance course for credit, regardless of their

discipline, were more than three times more likely to teach a personal finance course.

• Uose with backgrounds in vocational/technical education and social studies were more likely to

teach a personal finance course, just as they had been more likely to take one.

• Teachers of math also were more likely to

teach a personal finance course, even though

they were no more likely to have taken one.

• Females were no less likely to teach personal

finance topics, even though they were less

likely to have taken one.
Table 8: Percent of Teachers Who Have Taught Personal Finance Courses

Finding No. 3: Teachers do not feel prepared to

teach personal finance

12

Less than 20 percent of teachers and prospective teachers reported feeling

very competent to teach any of the six personal finance concepts surveyed.

Teachers and prospective teachers felt least competent in the more technical

topics of risk management and insurance, saving and investing, and financial

responsibility and decision making.

Having taken a college course in personal finance or being in vocational/

technical education were major predictors of teachers feeling competent to

teach personal finance.

Education faculty felt no more competent to teach the six personal finance

concepts surveyed than did K–12 teachers.

Prospective Teachers1 K–12 Teachers Education Faculty

Have Taught Personal 5.4%2 29.7% 27.4 % at K–12 level;

Finance Courses 16.5 % at college level

Notes:

1

Of the prospective teachers, 76.6 percent had completed their teaching practicum and 19.5 percent had completed

their student teaching.

2

Of the prospective teachers, 5.4 percent report having taught financial education lessons during their practicum

or student teaching experiences.
13

How competent do teachers feel to teach personal finance? To gain a sense of teachers’ perceptions

of their own preparedness to teach, teachers were asked how competent they felt to teach specific

topics included in educational standards such as those identified by the Jump$tart Coalition (2007)

and in the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program® (HSFPP) (2007). Ue study surveyed

teachers on the following six topics: income and careers, planning and money management, credit

and debt, financial responsibility and decision making, saving and investing, and risk management

and insurance.

As shown in Table 9, relatively few teachers reported feeling “very competent” in any of the six

topic areas. Teachers felt most competent to teach in the content areas of income and careers,

and in planning and money management, but even for these topics fewer than 20 percent reported

feeling “very competent.” Teachers felt the least competent to teach risk management and

insurance (52.7 percent said they felt “not very competent”). Nearly half of the teachers also felt

“not very competent” to teach saving and investing (46.4 percent) and financial responsibility and

decision making (40.8 percent). Both teachers and education faculty reported virtually the same

level of competency with financial topics.

Table 9: Respondents’ Perceived Competency to Teach Financial Education Topics

State mandates had no influence

on whether a teacher had taken a course

in personal finance, taught a course, or

felt competent to teach a course.
14

According to the survey results, teachers who had taken a personal finance course in college are

more comfortable teaching financial education concepts. In fact, these teachers were 50 percent

more likely to rate themselves as competent in teaching financial literacy. Teachers in vocational/

technical education fields were significantly more likely than elementary education teachers

(the reference group) to feel competent to teach in each of the six topic areas. Teachers in states

with and without educational testing or course mandates expressed no difference in teaching

competency.

Finding No. 4: Teachers do not feel qualified

to use state standards

While the number of states with financial education standards and guidelines has almost doubled

in the last decade, a majority of K–12 teachers (63.8 percent), prospective teachers (61.5 percent),

and education faculty (60.4 percent) reported feeling “not well qualified” to teach to these

standards. Even higher percentages of K–12 teachers, prospective teachers, and education faculty

reported feeling “not well qualified” to use the Jump$tart standards (Jump$tart Coalition, 2007)

(see Table 10). In addition to those reporting they were not well qualified to use their state

standards, 14.7 percent of K–12 teachers, 22.1 percent of prospective teachers, and 27.7 percent

of education faculty reported not feeling familiar with their state standards in the first place.

Today, 80 percent of states have adopted personal financial education standards

or guidelines, up from 42 percent in 1998.

In those states, 63.8 percent of teachers and 61.5 percent of prospective teachers

do not feel qualified to teach to their state’s financial education standards.

State mandates had no influence on whether a teacher had taken a course in

personal finance, taught a course, or felt competent to teach a course.

Education faculty were no more familiar with state financial education standards

than K–12 teachers.
Table 10: Respondents’ Perceived Qualification to Use State Standards for Designing Financial

Education Programs

Today, 80 percent of states have standards and guidelines for financial education, up from 42 percent

in 1998. Given this growth in support for financial education, researchers Way and Holden expected

that these educational policies would have some influence on whether teachers had taken or taught

a course related to financial education, or felt competent to teach a course in these topic areas.

However, in states with educational testing or courses mandated, the mandates had no influence

on whether teachers had taken or taught a course in personal finance, and teachers expressed no

difference in teaching competence.

Ue number of education faculty who felt they were “not well qualified” to use personal finance

education standards (60.4 percent) is far greater than the number reporting they felt “not very

competent” to teach the topics (32.7 to 44.6 percent for the six topic areas described previously).

15

Today, 80 percent of states have

guidelines for financial education, but more

than 60 percent of K–12 teachers and

prospective teachers reported being “not well

qualified” to teach to the standards.
16

Finding No. 5: Teachers do not feel qualified in

financial education pedagogy

More than half of K–12 teachers, prospective teachers, and education faculty

reported feeling “not well qualified” to design curricula, employ instructional

strategies, or address learner needs for financial education.

Teachers view team teaching and collaborating with parents and the local

financial services community as positive strategies to employ for teaching

financial education.

Overall, respondents

were open to various

teaching methods,

including team

teaching and

collaboration

with parents

and the local

financial

services

community.
17

Teachers feel limited in their abilities to design curricula with financial education concepts integrated

into their specific discipline, employ instructional strategies, and assess specific learner needs.

In almost all of the categories surveyed, over half of K–12 teachers, prospective teachers, and

education faculty reported themselves as “not well qualified” in these pedagogical domains. However,

prospective teachers feel more comfortable than K–12 teachers or education faculty in the use of

online resources (Web sites and other online tools) and their ability to determine how their students’

social or cultural background relates to their financial literacy understanding (see Table 11).

Table 11: Respondents’ Perceived Qualification in Other Pedagogical Domains: Percentage

Reporting “Not Well Qualified”

Overall, K–12 teachers are open to various teaching methods that might be employed to implement

financial education, including team teaching (38 percent strongly agreed), collaboration with

parents (36 percent strongly agreed), and the local financial services community (31 percent

strongly agreed). Prospective teachers are even more open to these various methods of teaching,

with 57 percent reporting that they would be open to team teaching, 47 percent reporting that they

would encourage collaboration with parents, and 30 percent strongly agreeing that collaboration

with the local financial services community would make teaching financial literacy more effective.
18

Finding No. 6: A majority of teachers are

open to further education in

financial literacy

When asked about their willingness to participate in additional training, close to one-fourth of

teachers (22.2 percent) said they would be “very likely” to do so and another 51.7 percent said

“perhaps” they would. Teachers who had taken a college course for credit related to personal finance

are nearly twice as likely to express this willingness to participate in further education related to

teaching personal finance. Vocational/technical education teachers are nearly four times more likely

than others to say they would be “very likely” to participate in professional development activities

related to financial education.

As shown in Table 12, a little more than two-thirds of prospective teachers said they would be willing

to attend additional training (beyond what was required for their program) on teaching financial

education. Twice as many K–12 teachers as prospective teachers said they would be “very likely”

to do so. Prospective teachers who have backgrounds in social studies were nearly three times as

likely, and those who have backgrounds in vocational education were nearly six times as likely as

the reference group (elementary education teachers), to say they were “very likely” to attend further

education on teaching personal finance. Uis is consistent with the fact that social studies and

vocational education teachers traditionally have been responsible for teaching personal

finance topics.

A little more than two-thirds of prospective teachers and nearly three-quarters of

teachers said they would be “somewhat likely” to participate in further education

on teaching financial literacy.

Teachers and prospective teachers who would be interested in additional training

are those who have had a college course in personal finance or who have backgrounds in vocational education or social studies.
19

More than 70 percent

of K–12 teachers indicated

they were “very likely” or

would “perhaps” be willing to

participate in formal financial

education training.

Ue financial concerns expressed by teachers and prospective teachers are

similar to those that characterize the general U.S. population.

Chief among teachers’ financial concerns was knowing whether they will have

enough money for retirement (48.9 percent).

Income adequacy was the top financial concern for prospective teachers

(59.3 percent).

Both teachers and prospective teachers reported adhering to financial practices

associated with financial well-being.

Not likely Somewhat likely Very likely

Prospective Teachers 31.7% 56.4% 11.9%

K–12 Teachers 26.2% 51.6% 22.2%

Table 12: Openness to Attending Further Education on Teaching Personal Finance

Finding No. 7: Teachers’ financial concerns are

focused on retirement needs and

income adequacy
Prospective K–12

Percent Who Have Ever: Teachers Teachers

Purchased real estate property for personal use 9.0% 83.4%

Taken out a mortgage 8.1% 82.7%

Contributed to voluntary employer-sponsored retirement account 13.4% 73.4%

Applied for a bank or credit union loan other than a mortgage 26.9% 72.9%

Contributed to another retirement plan such as an IRA 14.2% 71.0%

Often/always planned and set goals for financial future 48.5% 70.0%

Refinanced a mortgage or home loan 4.8% 65.4%

Purchased stocks, bonds, mutual funds apart from retirement accounts 23.8% 54.5%

Developed a financial recordkeeping system 39.5% 54.2%

Created a legal financial will and/or estate plan 4.1% 34.8%

20

Expertise in personal finance develops over time for most people and it grows within multiple

contexts, from paying bills to purchasing real estate, and from applying for loans to saving for

retirement, along with a multitude of other activities. Teachers are quite engaged with the

personal finance system through their own experiences (see Table 13) and these experiences

also contribute to the knowledge they bring to the classroom.

Table 13: Personal Financial Experiences of K–12 Teachers and Prospective Teachers

In addition, both groups practice a number of financial behaviors that typically are recommended to

ensure financial security, as shown in Table 14.

Table 14: Personal Financial Practices of Prospective Teachers and K–12 Teachers

Prospective K–12 U.S.

Financial Practices Teachers Teachers Households1

Usually paid all bills on time 93.9% 92.6% 88.0%

Reviewed credit report 36.6% 74.3% 58.0%

Maintained fund for unexpected expenses 48.5% 70.6% 63.0%

Read about money management 23.0% 53.8% 20.0%

Prepared own personal income tax 32.0% 49.1% 40.0%

Reconciled checkbook every month 38.3% 57.2% 75.0%

Usually paid credit card balances in full each month 70.4% 54.1% 61.0%

Used a written spending plan 29.1% 38.0% 46.0%

Calculated net worth 12.7% 37.8% 40.0%

Notes:

1

Hilgert, Hogarth, & Beverly, 2003. These data are for U.S. households. The NEFE survey asked

individuals about their own personal practices, not about their household practices.
21

When asked about their top financial concerns, K–12 teachers and prospective teachers reported a

number of similar concerns. K–12 teachers’ top financial concerns were having enough money for

retirement and other concerns about income adequacy and making wise investment choices:

• Knowing whether I will have enough money for retirement: 48.9 percent

• Determining ways to supplement my income as teacher: 40.8 percent

• Paying for my children’s college/university education: 39.4 percent

• Whether I am using the best strategies for investing my money: 38.0 percent

• Whether I am taking advantage of all of the tax laws that benefit me: 35.6 percent

• Not having sufficient income to meet my needs: 33.8 percent

Financial concerns for prospective teachers were:

• Determining ways to supplement my income as a teacher: 59.3 percent

• Not having sufficient income to meet my needs: 56.8% percent

• Having funds to buy a home or meet my mortgage payments: 54.4 percent

• Paying off my college/university loans: 53.6 percent

• Covering the cost of my continuing education requirements: 46.6 percent

• Whether I am using the best strategies for investing my money: 46.4 percent

• Knowing whether I will have enough money for retirement: 44.1 percent

K–12 and prospective teachers practice a

number of financial behaviors

that typically help ensure

financial security.
22

Financial concerns were more similar than different among teachers and prospective teachers,

although some background characteristics such as age, marital status, gender, and race are

important predictors of some specific concerns, such as paying for children’s education versus

paying off personal college loans. Uough the median age of teachers was 43 and the median age of

prospective teachers was 23, both teachers (48.9 percent) and prospective teachers (44.1 percent)

reported similar concerns about having enough money for retirement. (By contrast, according to an

ABC News/Washington Post Poll on Feb. 19–22, 2009, of 1,001 adults nationwide, the number of

U.S. households concerned about having enough money for retirement exceeds 60 percent.)

Ue Road Ahead

As this study shows, there is a great need to expand educational opportunities in personal finance

for teachers and prospective teachers in order to meet both their personal and professional needs.

Ue researchers’ suggestions for expanded educational opportunities include:

Teachers’ Personal Financial Needs

Focused personal financial programs related to investment education. Having enough money for

retirement was one of the chief financial concerns for K–12 teachers. Uey also were concerned

with related issues about investment strategies, supplementing their income, and paying for

their children’s education. Prospective teachers’ top concerns were related to income adequacy

(supplementing their income, not having sufficient income to meet their needs, having funds to

buy a home or meet mortgage payments, paying off college loans, etc.). While prospective teachers

(median age 23) were on average far younger than K–12 teachers (median age 43), prospective

teachers also were concerned about having enough money for retirement. Uese widespread

concerns about income adequacy and retirement needs suggest that teachers and prospective

teachers would benefit from programs focused on investment education.

Focused attention to financial planning for prospective teachers within the context of career

development. Helping future teachers explore career paths in education—and helping them pursue

those options—could enable prospective teachers to better pursue career and financial goals while

also meeting state and school district continuing education requirements. Financial planning

education for prospective teachers likely would be most effective if it focused on teachers’ special

career and financial circumstances and how they are related. Issues that add relevance to financial

planning instruction for this group include the typical nine-month employment schedules, district

and state continuing education requirements, options for covering costs of further education,

career pathway/pay relationships and opportunities, and unique investment options for teachers.
23

Teachers’ Professional Education Needs

More learning opportunities in both financial education subject matter and pedagogy.

All respondents (K–12 teachers, prospective teachers, and education faculty) reported feeling not

well qualified to teach most of the financial topics surveyed. A top priority of respondents is

subject matter help in the topics of risk management and insurance, saving and investment,

financial responsibility and decision making, and credit and debt. Ue survey showed that K–12

teachers and prospective teachers are acquiring very little formal education in personal finance,

either through credit-based courses or non-credit offerings. Since having formal education related

to personal finance is a significant predictor of teachers’ own perceived competence to teach

personal finance topics, teachers lack of education in this area is significant. In addition, only a few

teachers and a handful of prospective teachers had taken any formal course work in educational

methods for teaching financial education. Given the increasing responsibility placed on individuals

for their own financial health, and the increasing diversity of the U.S. population, teachers with

expertise in both the content and pedagogy of financial education are critically needed.

Additional training for prospective teachers in teacher education programs. Education faculty may

need to be made more aware of the importance of integrating this subject matter into the teacher

education curriculum. Education faculty felt no more competent to teach specific financial concepts

than did K–12 teachers, and they were not more familiar with state financial education standards.

Help with how to use standards. While 80 percent of states now have standards or guidelines for

financial education in their schools, a majority of K–12 teachers, prospective teachers, and education

faculty reported feeling not well qualified to use those standards. In fact, 15 to 28 percent are not

familiar with the standards. Uis suggests that much work needs to be done to ensure that these

standards are incorporated into the curriculum for prospective teachers and that K–12 teachers

get the training they need to use the standards.

Help with integration of financial concepts throughout multiple disciplines, beyond just vocational/

technical education, social studies, and math. Most of the financial education currently taught

is through integrated—rather than stand-alone—curricula. Significant variations exist in teachers’

perceived expertise in teaching personal finance based upon what they are teaching even at the

time of this study. In-service education organized around homogeneous teaching specialty groups

or tailored to include disciplinary-specific curricula and instruction examples within heterogeneous

in-service groupings may be effective in expanding financial education beyond the areas where it

traditionally has been taught.

Help with understanding the developmental nature of financial reasoning, and learning how to

make financial concepts accessible at different ages, including the lower grade levels. Because

a majority of teachers see financial education as a subject that is appropriate primarily for higher

grades, most teachers would benefit from learning more about the developmental nature of

financial reasoning, and from learning how to make financial concepts accessible at different

grade levels. And given that few K–12 teachers or education faculty have taken financial education

methods courses or workshops, and that much of their content-focused financial education has

taken place primarily through their own financial experience (which would be complex and adult

focused), it is likely that prospective teachers have not been exposed to the concept of personal

financial education as a developmental process or to developmentally appropriate curricula and

teaching/learning resources.
24

Acknowledgments

Ue National Endowment for Financial Education gratefully acknowledges the significant

contribution to the field of financial education research made by the study team of Wendy Way,

Ph.D., and Karen Holden, Ph.D. Ueir thorough literature review, and collection and analysis of data,

combined with their thoughtful presentation of teachers’ capabilities, attitudes, and interests in

the context of teachers’ own personal financial concerns presents a well-rounded perspective on

the current state and future prognosis for financial education in America’s K–12 classrooms.

Many other academic researchers, experts, and stakeholders also contributed to the significance of

this project, including participating in its conception at a roundtable meeting at NEFE in April 2006,

advising on the study while in process, and finally discussing the study’s implications at a Salon

conducted at the University of Wisconsin campus in July 2009 where 15 priorities for establishing

effective financial education classrooms were identified. We gratefully acknowledge the following

individuals who participated in one or more of the efforts that went into producing the study and

this report:

• Cheryl Achterberg, Dean, College of Human Sciences, Iowa State University (now Dean, College of

Education and Human Ecology, Ohio State University)

• Diana Borth, Family and Consumer Education Teacher, Badger Ridge Middle School,

Verona, Wisconsin

• Peter Chandler, Associate Director of Investor Education, FINRA

• Virginia Clark Johnson, Dean, College of Human Development & Education, North Dakota

State University

• J. Michael Collins, Assistant Professor, Consumer Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Donna Cooner, Director of Teacher Education, Colorado State University

• Warren Crown, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Graduate School of Education,

Rutgers University

• Tim Davies, Interim Director, School of Education, Colorado State University

• Kathleen deMarrais, Associate Dean for Academic Programs, University of Georgia

• Robin Douthitt, Dean, School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Jacqueline Edmondson, Associate Dean for Teacher Education and Undergraduate Programs,

College of Education, Pennsylvania State University

• Cheryl Fedje, Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Family and

Consumer Education Senior Lecturer, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Michael Gutter, Assistant Professor and Financial Management State Specialist for the

Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, in the Institute for Food and

Agricultural, University of Florida

• Philip Heckman, Director of Youth Programs, Credit Union National Association (CUNA)
25

• Karen Holden, Professor Emeritus of Public Affairs and Consumer Science, Faculty Affiliate,

Institute for Research on Poverty, Center for the Demography and Health of Aging, Institute

on Aging, University of Wisconsin – Madison.

• Catherine Huddleston-Casas, Assistant Professor, Family and Consumer Sciences University

of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Julie Johnson, Chair, Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Marjorie Kostelnik, Dean, College of Education and Human Sciences, University of

Nebraska-Lincoln

• David Mancl, Director of the Office of Financial Literacy, State of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

• April Mason, Dean, College of Applied Human Sciences, Colorado State University

• Christine Mayfield, Instructor, College of Education, California State University-Fullerton

• Uomas McGowan, Chair of Teacher Education, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Members of the NEFE Teacher Development Task Force, who provided feedback during their

Denver meeting in August 2008

• Collin O’Rourke, Graduate Student, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Ann Perkins, Assistant Professor, College of Human Development & Education, North Dakota

State University

• Jane Schuchardt, National Program Leader, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA),

United States Department of Agriculture

• Bridget Skelly, Education Student, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Daisy L. Stewart, Associate Director, School of Education, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and

State University

• Patricia Swanson, Extension Family Specialist, Human Development and Family Studies,

Iowa State University

• Lois Vitt, Director, Institute for Socio-Financial Studies, Charlottesville, Virginia

• Wendy Way, Associate Dean, School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• David Whaley, Dean, School of Education, Colorado State University (now Associate Dean for

Teacher Education, Iowa State University)
26

Reference List

Ue following references are cited in this summary of the “Teachers’ Background & Capacity to

Teach Personal Finance” study’s research findings. A complete reference list is in the full report

at www.nefe.org/tntfinalreport.

Hilgert, M.A, Hogarth, J.M., & Beverly, S.G., 2003. Household financial management:

Ue connection between knowledge and behavior. Federal Reserve Bulletin, 89, 309–322.

Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, 2007. National standards in K–12 personal

finance education, %ird edition. Accessed 2/1/2009 at: http://www.jumpstart.org/guide.html.

National Endowment for Financial Education, 2007. High School Financial Planning Program.

Accessed 2/2/2009 at: http://www.nefe.org/HighSchoolProgram/tabid/146/Default.aspx.

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (2007). Status of education in rural America.

Table 3.7. Number and percentage distribution of public elementary and secondary school

teachers, by locale and selected characteristics: 2002–2003. Washington, D.C.: National

Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved Feb. 2, 2009, from

http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/ruraled/tables/tabl3_7.asp.

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (2008). Digest of education statistics. Table 69.

Selected characteristics of public school teachers: Selected years, spring 1961 through spring 2001.

Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved

Sept. 23, 2009, from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d08/tables/dt08_069.asp.
27

Top 15 Research Priorities for Establishing

Effective Financial Education in

PreK–12 Classrooms

On July 16, 2009, on the University of Wisconsin- Madison campus, NEFE convened a group of

participants representative of key stakeholders, including teacher education students, PreK–12

teachers, education faculty, funders, and researchers, along with the research team and the study’s

advisors to discuss the project findings and its implications. Ee group developed the following Top 15

Research Priorities:

1. Review the role teachers’ financial education backgrounds and financial experiences play in personal finance

education classroom practice.

2. Study the manner and circumstances under which the background characteristics of teachers and their

classroom practices translate into student academic achievement for various school populations.

3. Examine successful personal finance education programs to identify not only best practices, but the factors

such as teacher characteristics that contributed to their development and what has sustained them over time.

4. Research the inadequacies of teacher compensation (in regard to teachers’ own personal economic well-being).

Provide research to support additional dialog about the forms, adequacy, and equity of compensation for teachers.

5. Examine how personal finance can be successfully integrated into the core curriculum courses.

6. Examine appropriateness of state and national standards for developmental levels and cultural backgrounds.

Create such standards as needed.

7. Consider how best to address personal finance and instruction preparation needs among practicing teachers

and pre-service students.

8. Determine what PreK–12 schools must provide their students to distinguish what teachers must teach and the

most effective methods for student learning to occur.

9. Determine the optimal places in higher education for providing personal finance teacher education.

10. Assess whether there are effective collaborative models for providing financial education. What benefits might

be gained by forming various kinds of partnerships between school districts, colleges/universities, and financial

services providers for providing such education? How can successful partnerships be achieved and sustained?

11. Examine what forms of pre-service and in-service personal finance teacher education are most likely to

translate into effective classroom practice and/or enhanced financial security for teachers.

12. Review what is required at the college/university level to effectively train education students to teach

personal finance.

13. Ascertain the most effective curricula and venues for nurturing greater personal finance knowledge and

fostering its application to financial education programs for school and

non-school audiences.

14. Look at the role teachers play in the initiation and expansion of school-based efforts to provide financial

education. Uis would include whether and how subject-matter and pedagogical expertise make contributions,

particularly relative to other school and community factors.

15. Examine the teacher certification standards that are optimal for supporting effective personal finance

education in PreK–12 educational settings (in regard to teacher preparation). For example, should preparation

involve an academic major or a minor, specific kinds of coursework, and/or a particular disciplinary background,

and if so, what?
Ue full report is available at www.nefe.org/tntfinalreport.