Teacher Experiences With Credit-Related Finance Education

Recent financial problems have highlighted the portion of financial literacy classes related to credit and spending. The recent bursting of the real estate asset bubble and the ongoing economic crisis framed the research question for this study regarding the experiences of social studies and business teachers in teaching coursework in credit-related finance management. The purpose of this study was to understand teacher experiences in the classroom that involved teaching financial information related to consumer credit. The study was based on the theoretical foundations of constructivism and a synthesis of related economic and educational thought. A qualitative, constructivist, and interpretive case study was conducted using interviews with and observations of 6 business and 3 economics teachers. The results were horizontalized and then inductively grouped by phenomenological reduction into domains. Analysis showed that business and economics teachers were faithful in incorporating topics related to consumer credit-related finance education at, or greater than, the level outlined by state standards. The best methods recommended by research were prevalent in the instructional strategies. Teachers stressed the importance of literacy and numeracy. The infusion of economics in early grade levels had little effect on student performance. Participants felt that more finance education in high school was needed, either as a stand-alone course or integrated more efficiently into the curriculum. Implications for positive social change include evaluating financial curriculum components to improve instructional practices by being a part of the curriculum review process and helping administrators and teachers address poverty by improving students' financial skills