Educating for financial literacy : a resource book for union educators

Abstract

Financial literacy is the "knowledge and understanding of financial concepts" and aims to "improve the financial well-being of individuals and society, and to enable participation in economic life" (OECD, 2012, p. 144). By reflecting on specific issues within the labour market such as wages and cost of living, financial literacy can shed light on the strength worker unionisation. Union members and shop stewards are an integral part of the economic life within the Maltese labour force sector especially in the private sector where most workers remain non-unionised (Gravina, 2023). This research project develops a financial literacy programme which can be carried out in unions, and will incorporate different educational disciplines: mathematics education, adult education and trade union education. This financial literacy programme provides union members and workers an opportunity to develop the skills to analyse, cooperate democratically, identify other forms of economic structures and denaturalise the logic of economic rationality based on competition and maximum profit. The goal of this project is to invite union members and adult educators to develop a greater capacity in collective bargaining and fighting for workers’ rights, through a critical mathematics approach to financial literacy. The dissertation is split up into two parts: the project and the project report. The project consists of a resource book which presents the financial literacy programme. It is designed and written in a way that could be easily followed by the adult educators who are tasked with delivering this programme. The project report is an academic document consisting of four chapters. It includes an introduction of my educational background and explains my relation to the proposed programme. It also includes a review of the relevant literature and delves into the methodology involved in producing the book. The last part of the report explores the strengths of the programme, its weaknesses, and areas for potential improvements and my personal reflections on the research journey.