A NEW MODEL FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION: COMPETENCY BASED ACTION LEARNING (COBAL)

There is concern about lack of financial literacy and need for effective financial literacy education, but little or no attempt to understand their nature. The question as to what might be the components of an effective financial literacy curriculum was explored in a study conducted at the Institute of Education University of London.

Adopting an inductive grounded theory approach and a pragmatist philosophy, in association with real-world organisations such as the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE), the Financial Services Authority (FSA)*, and the National Research and Development Centre for adult literacy and numeracy (NRDC), empirical data was collected from surveys, observation and interviews.

This was the first time that: financial literacy education provision in England was examined using the FSA framework; financial literacy education for financial literacy providers was the subject of a study; a financial literacy curriculum was categorised using the FSA’s baseline survey areas; and financial literacy curriculum components were explored within a new synthesis of ‘Competency Based Action Learning (CoBAL)’.

The CoBAL model is put forward as a more rigorous and aspirational form of financial literacy education that would facilitate more effective outcomes. This new model envisages a financial literacy curriculum that synthesises components relating to knowledge, skills and attitudinal competencies with action learning in the real-world context and is likely to lead to the generation of more effective financial experiences.
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*The financial regulator in the UK, now known as the FCA