Evaluating financial literacy curriculum for young adults with special needs: A review of content, universal design for learning, and culturally responsive curriculum principles

Abstract

Acquiring financial literacy presents many unique challenges for young adults with disabilities. Although financial literacy can and should be taught throughout the lifespan, this review examines the curriculum accessible to students with high incidence disabilities who are 14–21 years old, when they are planning for transition from secondary school to the workforce/higher education. This review examines five examples of promising financial literacy curriculum: Financial Fitness for Life, Practical Money Skills, Finance in the Classroom, Money Talks 4 Teens, and Money Smart for Young Adults. The curricula are compared for their application of universal design and culturally responsive curriculum principles. Completed rubrics will be presented to evaluate those curricula based on standards-based financial literacy concepts particularly relevant to youth with special needs, principles of universal design, and culturally responsive curriculum.

Pre-Service Teachers’ Perception of Financial Literacy Curriculum: National Standards, Universal Design, and Cultural Responsiveness

“…We developed a three-part survey instrument in which participants evaluated the five selected curricula using a rubric (Part 1), answered two open-ended questions about the rubric (Part 2) and completed four demographic questions (Part 3). The rubric used in Part 1 was the same rubric developed by the authors and used to evaluate the five financial literacy curricula in an earlier study (see Henning and Johnston-Rodriguez 2018a [24]). The rubric and complete survey instrument may be viewed in Appendix A.…”

“…We asked preservice teachers to evaluate five examples of promising financial literacy curricula from the United States: Financial Fitness for Life (Gellman and Laux 2011 [19]), Practical Money Skills (Visa 2000(Visa -2016), Finance in the Classroom (Utah, n.d. [21]), Money Talks 4 Teens (University of California Cooperative Extension 2008 [22]), and Money Smart for Young Adults (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, FDIC 2011 [23]). These five curricula were previously evaluated by the authors, a professor of curriculum and instruction, and a professor of special education (Henning and Johnston-Rodriguez, 2018a [24]). The professors developed the rubric based on their shared beliefs in the importance of meeting national content standards, universal design, and cultural responsiveness.…”

“…It should reflect different cultures and incorporate students' personal stories and experiences as they learn about financial literacy. A culturally responsive curriculum encourages CLD students to discover who they are, as opposed to being forced into the mainstream curricular dialogue (Henning and Johnston-Rodriguez 2018a [24]).…”

“…Migrant labor, manufacturing, and entrepreneurship should all be acknowledged and affirmed. Reasons for earning income such as helping with family expenses, paying for a trip to an amusement park, or buying fashionable shoes would all be culturally responsive examples which might be included in a curriculum (Henning and Johnston-Rodriguez 2018a [24]).…”

Özel Eğitim Öğretmenlerinin Finansal Okuryazarlık Becerilerinin Öğretimine İlişkin Deneyimleri

“…Örneğin matematik (örneğin dört işlem bilgi ve becerisi), sosyal bilgiler (örneğin bütçe yapma), bağımsız yaşam (örneğin gereksinimlerini belirleyerek harcamalarını planlama) gibi farklı disiplinlere ait öğretim programlarında finansal okuryazarlıkla ilişkili içeriklere yer verildiği (Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı [MEB], 2018; araştırmalarda ise genel olarak ATM'yi kullanma (Alberto vd., 2005;Cihak vd., 2006;Scott vd., 2013), alış-veriş yapma (Cihak vd., 2006;Hsu vd., 2014;Xin vd., 2005), banka kartını kullanarak alış-veriş yapma (Mechling vd., 2003;Rowe vd., 2011) ve vadesiz hesap yönetme (Davies vd., 2003) gibi içeriklerin öğretimine odaklanıldığı görülmektedir. Ancak pek çok öğretim programında yer bulmasına ve araştırmalarda konu edinilmesine rağmen alanyazın finansal okuryazarlıkla ilgili içerikleri edinmede güçlükler yaşayan ÖG bireyler (Garcia-Iriarte vd., 2007;Lehmann vd., 2000;Lombe vd., 2010;Mittapalli vd., 2009) Journal of Bayburt Education Faculty, Year: 2023 Volume: 18 Number: 39 için bu içeriklerin yeterli olmadığını göstermektedir (Henning & Johnston-Rodriguez, 2018).…”