| CODE | LAS1100 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Financial Capability & Entrepreneurship: A Development Program for Educators | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | I - Introductory Level | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Centre for the Liberal Arts and Sciences | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The accredited training programme ‘Financial Capability & Entrepreneurship: A Development Program for Educators’, is built on the financial competence framework for children and youth in the European Union, jointly developed by the European Commission and OECD International Network on Financial Education (OECD/INFE). Nowadays children have access to money and start using digital financial services from a young age. They are growing up in a fast-evolving financial landscape that means potentially more opportunities but also more responsibility for financial decisions than previous generations. The last two OECD/INFE surveys showed that financial literacy amongst adults in Malta is precariously low especially in financial knowledge and their financial attitude. More so the latest PISA results for students aged 15-years old are currently below the overall EU average in English, Science and maths of which fifteen of the questions are on financial literacy. The main objective of this training program is to provide educators with the knowledge, skills and tools to be able to teach financial concepts transversely across various subjects and for different age groups with an outcome of building positive financial habits from a young age that will help them in their financial future to have financially savvy attitudes and behaviours. The program is designed to provide educators, of both primary and secondary level, an in-depth understanding of the key principles of financial capability and entrepreneurship. Through this programme, educators will be able to develop the skills and knowledge needed to support learners from the age groups of 6 – 10 and 11 - 15 in understanding how to manage their money effectively and their relationship with money. Both educators and learners would be in a better position to improve their overall financial well-being and have the confidence and understanding to tackle financial scenarios throughout life. The programme is focused around four subject areas. These are: 1. Money & Transactions; 2. Planning and Managing Finances; 3. Risk & Reward; 4. Financial landscape. Consequently, the training programme together with the framework build a common understanding of financial literacy competencies for children and youth at different ages and across different stages of their formal education. 1. Money & Transactions Ensure that children know how and why it is important to store money safely and they are able to prepare a budget and manage basic expenditures and income. Content In this module covers some of the most fundamental competences on knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to: i. Money and currencies; ii. Income; iii. Prices, purchases and payments; iv. Financial records and contracts. Educators’ competences in this area would allow children to be familiar with the main characteristics of money, including its value, the way it can be exchanged for goods and services and the importance of keeping track of a personal budget. 2. Planning and Managing Finances The importance of equipping children and youths with the skills to act responsibly in relation to money, including the importance of setting aside emergency savings and being confident to seek assistance when needed. Content Content are covers knowledge, skills and attitudes related to: i. Budgeting / planning; ii. Managing and planning income and expenditure; iii. Saving and Investing; iv. Retirement and pensions; v. Credit. The main goal of this content area is to establish competencies for planning and managing finances from an early age. 3. Risk & Reward To ensure that children and young people are generally familiar with the main financial products and services, and with the role of the main bodies in the economic and financial system. Content Content area covers knowledge, skills and attitudes related to: i. The identification of risk and rewards; ii. The relationship between financial risk and reward; iii. Insurance and managing financial risk. Children that have acquired these competences should be able to relate returns to risk and to identify and mitigate risks, while making personal finance decisions. 4. Financial Landscape To ensure that children and young people have the financial literacy to take a broad range of personal financial decisions relevant for their adult lives. Content Content refers more broadly to financial services and covers knowledge, skills and attitudes related to: i. Financial products, services and providers; ii. Consumer protection; iii. Rights and responsibilities; iv. Scams and fraud; v. Financial education, information and advice; vi. Tax and public spending; vii. External influences. The financial landscape is largely shaped by the available financial products, services and providers. From an early age, children should be able to distinguish simple products and providers. Older children should be aware of the importance of comparing products and services and have the confidence to shop around. In addition, they should be able to spot non-regulated entities and be aware of the providers’ obligations. Entrepreneurship Competences Educators will become familiar with the EU Entrepreneurship Competence Framework that defines entrepreneurship as a sense of initiative and the capacity to turn ideas into action, ideas that generate value for someone other than oneself. Sense of initiative and entrepreneurship is a transversal key competence, which every learner needs for personal fulfilment and development, active citizenship, social inclusion and employment in the knowledge of society. Through the entrepreneurship competency educators can support learners develop an entrepreneurial mindset to turn ideas into concrete business projects or projects with a social or environmental impact. Such as the confidence to handle simple transactions within an enterprise and being motivated to learn about how fiscal policies can support entrepreneurship. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: a) Apply key financial concepts related to savings, investments, loans, and insurance, and their implications for personal and societal financial health; b) Outline effective pedagogical methods to promote meaningful teaching and learning on financial and entrepreneurship education; c) Recognise the role and features of various financial institutions, including the services they offer and their relevance to entrepreneurship, such as business banking services; d) Grasp the importance of consumer rights and protections in financial services and know where and how to seek help if these rights are infringed; e) Appreciate the interconnectedness of personal financial decisions with the wider economy, including understanding the basics of taxes and public finance and their impact on business operations; f) Judge the risks and rewards associated with different financial decisions, including those related to business investments and credits; g) Identify and understand the concepts and implications of sustainable finance and digital financial literacy, recognizing their growing importance in the financial landscape; h) Apply entrepreneurship concepts, including the process of starting a business, the economic principles behind entrepreneurship, and the role of innovation in value creation; i) Demonstrate awareness of the resources and setting operations required to set up a business. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: a) Apply financial knowledge to everyday situations, such as budgeting, making informed purchasing decisions, and planning for future financial needs both personally and for a business; b) Utilise digital tools and platforms for managing finances securely and efficiently, including conducting business transactions and managing a business's finances using digital applications; c) Develop critical thinking skills to evaluate financial information, offers, and services critically, essential for making strategic business decisions; d) Engage in responsible financial behaviours such as saving, wisely investing, and using credit responsibly, all crucial for maintaining a healthy business; e) Exercise rights as a consumer of financial products and as a business owner, including how to navigate the process of making complaints or seeking redress in a business context; f) Enhance communication skills, enabling effective discussions and negotiations regarding financial matters with business partners, investors, and financial advisors; g) Cultivate adaptability and proactive learning habits to keep up with evolving financial environments and business trends, particularly in digital and sustainable finance areas; h) Develop and apply entrepreneurial skills such as identifying market opportunities, creating business plans, understanding and managing business risks, and innovating to meet customer needs; i) Explore possible ways of being a proactive forward-looking educator in proposing ways of incorporating financial capability and entrepreneurship in class; j) Foster entrepreneurial skills throughout the process from generation of ideas to the transformation into a finished product or service. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: 1. OECD. (2020). PISA 2018 Results (Volume IV): Are Students Smart about Money? PISA, OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/48ebd1ba-en 2. OECD. (2015). OECD/INFE Core Competencies Framework on Financial Literacy for Youth. https://www.oecd.org/finance/Core-Competencies-Framework-Youth.pdf 3. OECD. (2021). PISA 2021 Financial Literacy Analytical and Assessment Framework. https://www.oecd.org/pisa/sitedocument/PISA-2021-Financial-Literacy-Framework.pdf 4. OECD. (2020). OECD Recommendation of the Council on Financial Literacy. https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0461 5. Whitebread, D., & Bingham, S. (2013). Habit Formation and Learning in Young Children. The Money Advice Service. https://mascdn.azureedge.net/cms/the-money-advice-service-habit-formation-and-learning-in-young-children-may2013.pdf 6. Bacigalupo, M., Kampylis, P., Punie, Y., Van den Brande, G. (2016). EntreComp: The Entrepreneurship Competence Framework. Luxembourg: Publication Office of the European Union; EUR 27939 EN; doi:10.2791/593884 7. Lackeus, M. (2015). Entrepreneurship in education: Entrepreneurship360 - What, why, when, how. Paris: Centre for Entrepreneurship, OECD 8. Gordon, E., Natarajan, K., & Arora, A. (2009). Entrepreneurship development. 9. Lewandowski, M. (2015). Designing the Business Models for Circular Economy - Towards the Conceptual Framework. Sustainability, 10. Kiyosaki, R. T. (n.d.). Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money. Lulu.com. 11. Moberg, K. (2014). Two Approaches to Entrepreneurship Education: The Different Effects of Education for and through Entrepreneurship at the Lower Secondary Level. International Journal of Management Education, 12, 512-528 Supplementary readings: 12. Wood, F. and Sangster, A. (2018). Frank Wood’s business accounting 2. Harlow (Essex): Pearson Education; London. 13. Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1981). The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. Science, 211(4481), 453-458. 14. Kahneman, D. (2013). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 15. Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2021). Nudge: The final edition. Penguin Books 16. Hill, Charles and Tomas Hult (2017). “International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace”. 11th edition. McGraw-Hill Irwin. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Independent Study, Lecture, Practical, Project & Group Learning | ||||||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Mercer Petra Marie Ellul |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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