Investor Education Fund

Financial Education in Schools- Opportunities and

ChallengesNovember 3, 2011

www.getsmarteraboutmoney.ca

Investor Education Fund is a leader in classroom financial literacy

• An non-profit financial literacy organization funded by the Ontario Securities Commission

• A leading financial literacy innovator for over 10 years– A leader in classroom financial literacy

• Trainer of over 5,000 teachers on financial literacy and ‘Taking Stock”• Chair of the Ontario Working Group on Financial Literacy to increase financial

literacy in schools– A leading researcher into financial and investor education– An authority on Canadian financial education for adults

• Leading Canadian financial education website with 1.6+ million users annually• First to market financial literacy as a public service concern

Our Belief: Financial literacy must be interesting and easy to understand

© Investor Education Fund, 2010

Financial reality for families has changed dramatically

© Investor Education Fund, 2010

Debt• Average household debt:

$100,000 (nearly double from $56,800 in 1990)

• Canadians now owe 150% of our disposable income (up from 93% in 1990)

• One-third of Canadian retirees have mortgage or consumer debt (median $19,000)

Kids• Average tuition now: $5,366• In 1991: $1716• Average university debt load:

$25,000

ParentsOne-third of Canadians aged

45+ provide unpaid care to aging parents

Savings• On average, Canadians

save 4 cents for each dollar earned (down from 13 cents in 1990)

Retirement Savings• In 2009, only 24% of

Canadians contributed to their RRSP

• Average contribution: $2,600

Challenges in Financial Education

© Investor Education Fund, 2010

Financial Literacy Challenges: The Solutions:

The greatest need for financial education is among people who are the least interested

Develop a better understanding of how to reach and engage different demographic groups

Financial issues are perceived as intimidating and complicated

Change methods of delivery and presentation (language, tone, medium, etc.) to appeal to different targeted groups

The topic is a lifelong learning issue that changes over time

(a) Integrate basics financial topics into public school curriculum

(b) Create content that addresses a lifetime of financial issues

Most financial education is offered by the financial industry – with its natural bias to selling product

Reach out to people through the media and advertising like industry does, and offer an unbiased alternative

IPAC/Deloitte Public Sector Leadership Awards

Working Group on Financial Literacy in Ontario

• Mandate was to bring together best practices around the world and work with teachers, parents, students and other stakeholders to make recommendations about how to implement financial education in Ontario schools

• Wrote “A Sound Investment” that summarized our recommendations

• Led to the release of the ‘Scope and Sequence’ document which highlighted how the topic should be implemented in courses between Grades 4-12

• Financial literacy in the curriculum began to be rolled out in 2011

© Investor Education Fund, 2010

Changing Education: The Route to Permanent Change

We are Integrating financial education into the schools

in a creative and entertaining way

• Funny Money- Partner to expand the FM program, which uses comedians to

present financial information to students

• Animated videos- Address major money issues that students told us that they

are concerned about, and in an engaging way

• New content and training for Grades 4-12- Provide curriculum-based

financial literacy material and training for teachers

• Expanding Partnerships- Expand reach of Toronto Star and Globe & Mail

partnerships that create current events to teach financial topics

• Train new teachers- Partner with teachers’ colleges in Ontario to prepare

student teachers to teach financial literacy

Long-term change requires a long-term effort• Be part of the change- go to Getsmarteraboutmoney.ca and sign up

for the summer institute and to get our free curriculum based content

© Investor Education Fund, 2010

IPAC/Deloitte Public Sector Leadership Awards

Next Steps: How to Inspire Financial Literacy

• Sign up for to receive our financial literacy content for most topics from Grades 4-12

• Get professional instruction at your board or school on how to integrate financial literacy into the classroom

• Be a leader and sign up for our free summer institute in Toronto in August, 2012

• To find out about all of this, go to:

© Investor Education Fund, 2010