Are We Making the Grade? A National Overview of Financial Education and Program Evaluation

Abstract

Many financial education providers still do not have a basic level of evaluation capacity and are unable to identify program outcomes and design effective evaluation instruments. It is difficult to propose a national evaluation strategy without a basic understanding of current evaluation capacity and of the critical gaps in program evaluation. In addition, there has been little discussion about the challenges facing financial professionals and educators who are on the “front lines” delivering and evaluating programs. The purpose of this survey article is to address these critical gaps in the literature and to provide an overview of the current state of financial education and program evaluation. Using qualitative and quantitative data collected from financial professionals and educators nationwide, this study provides insight into what can be done to build national evaluation capacity and conduct more effective program evaluations.

Kontrol Diri, Pendidikan Pengelolaan Keuangan Keluarga, Pengetahuan Inklusi Keuangan Siswa Pengaruhnya Terhadap Perilaku Menabung Siswa SMK Se Kota Kediri

“…Selaras dengan penelitian ini, Lyons et al (2006) bahwa kemampuan menabung anak dipengarughi oleh sosial ekonomi, program pembelajaran di sekolah dan pengetahuan anak tentang perbankan. Sedangkan penelitian yang dilakukan Sherraden (2008), menyatakan kesadaran anak membuka rekening tabungan dipengaruhi pembiasaan menabung siswa orang tua, akan tetapi pengetahuan keuangan anak tidak berpengaruh.…”

Assessing Financial Literacy

“…As suggested by Lyons et al ( 2006 ) , program evaluation (which includes FLA) should not be an afterthought and requires purposeful and strategic planning. Careful consideration and development of the FLA tool can assist in program evaluation and documentation of impact.…”

“…Ideally, a fi nancial literacy assessment (FLA) would take place before and after the administration of a fi nancial education program to gauge improvement in human capital speci fi c to personal fi nance. While there are certainly a multitude of educational approaches available for enhancing fi nancial literacy (some are discussed in other chapters of this book), the human capital improvement we are trying to measure is less variable in nature (see Fox et al 2005 ;Lyons et al 2006 ) . Collecting data regarding FLA from multiple individuals can provide research opportunities within a fi nancial education program; these will be discussed in a subsequent chapter of this book as well.…”

Inferring Risk Aversion for Decentralized Investment Portfolios

“…The range and complexity of choices used in retirement planning, particularly around risk tolerance and asset allocation, has increased without an equally commensurate rise in the underlying level of financial literacy of workers [8]. Consumer decisions surrounding retirement planning are very sensitive to risk tolerance, investment styles and economic assumptions.…”