Comparison of Financial Literacy Concept in Projected Curricula of Selected Countries

Abstract

Due to the turbulent economic development in recent years and the rising number of financial issues individuals need to deal with, financial literacy is becoming a widely recognized concept, which, among others, spreads into the field of primary and secondary education. However, in each country, the different political, social, or cultural environment influences the final form of concept implementation. Therefore, the presented study focuses on the analysis and comparison of project curricula, which are crucial documents for financial education at the primary levels. A categorical system was presented as the main research tool, with the purpose to examine documents from the countries of the USA (Utah), Canada (Ontario), the Czech Republic and Australia. The results suggested the relative disunity of the financial literacy concept within the Ontario curriculum, as no comprehensive content block is devoted to it during the study. The concept is presented only as one of the cross-curricular topics, often lacking any continuity. Within the Utah curriculum, the individual actions should be cognitively more demanding so that the students are properly stimulated to be active and solve the given task. The Czech curriculum then suffers from a lack of guidance in the curriculum concerning financial literacy. The cause might be in the lower scope of the document.