Other ways of being: challenging dominant financial literacy discourses in Aboriginal Context

Abstract

Financial literacy education (FLE) continues to gain momentum on a global scale. FLE is often described as essential learning for all citizens, despite the bulk of initiatives outside the compulsory school classrooms focused on educating economically disadvantaged individuals. Informed by Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing a critical discourse analysis of FLE facilitators resources used in train-the-trainer workshops in/for a Canadian Aboriginal community was conducted to identify dominant discourses. An uncomfortable space was uncovered as the ubiquitous focus on individual wealth accumulation contradicted Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing, underscoring the challenges of embedding Indigenous epistemologies in highly institutionalised charitable organizations' attempts to help Indigenous (and non-Indigenous) peoples in poverty. Though this research is based on a Canadian program, the explosion of FLE as a "solution" to collective problems such as poverty lends itself to other-including Australian-contexts. Keywords (4-6): financial literacy education, Indigenous education Acknowledgement: The first named author would like to thank the Fellowship Fund Inc. of Graduate Women Queensland for awarding her with the inaugural Molly Budtz-Olsen 3 year Fellowship during her PhD candidature.

Does the content of financial literacy education resources vary based on who made or paid for them?

“…As illustrated in Figure 1, the key themes we identified appeared consistently across resources, regardless of industry affiliation, suggesting that content does not vary based on who made or paid for the resource. Both the key themes identified and the consistency are generally in keeping with the dominant, conventional approach to financial literacy, which focuses on individual choice, rather than systemic constraints on those choices (Blue and Pinto, 2017). Eight of the thirteen themes were coded for in all three categories of resources.…”

Financial Literacy Education with an Aboriginal Community: Identifying Critical Moments for Enabling Praxis

“…The material-economic arrangements, such as the activities used in the workshop and the resources (FLE booklets), also enabled and constrained practice as participants began to compare the promoted financial practices with their own financial practices. Thus, a tension with Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing [41] emerged when examining the individualistic wealth-accumulating FLE practices promoted in conventional workshops [8,42]. These tensions (often unspoken but felt), which may also be prevalent in other cultures, also affect relationships (social political arrangements) and practices such as establishing savings when a high percentage of the population is on social assistance: I don't see any new income or any new jobs coming about or anything that will grow the economy happening here at all.…”

“…An individual's feelings, thoughts and talking about guilt or shame (the sayings) may affect what s/he does with money (e.g., gives it away-the doings) and how they relate with others (the relating) at Community fundraising events. Thus, the connection of financial practices and the sayings, doings, and relating in a financial context become apparent [42]. Some of the reluctance for engaging with FLE workshops offered by outside organisations may be explained by a lack of understanding of communities' financial practices and community members' concern for others.…”

Cost, price and profit: what influences students’ decisions about fundraising?

“…However, as a number of academics have argued, financial literacy education is typically values-laden, with middle class curriculum content that is disconnected from many students' everyday financial realities, and potentially marginalising for those from culturally diverse and low socioeconomic backgrounds (Appleyard and Rowlingson 2013;Blue and Pinto 2017;Sawatzki 2014). Enterprise and entrepreneurship education discourses can be similarly neoliberal.…”