FINANCE PATHWAY - Making the Case for Financial Education in Nebraska
 |
A Report Delivered to the State Board of Education
December 6, 2006
The accounting scandals and collapse of corporate giants coupled with increased personal
bankruptcies have focused national attention on the need for financial literacy. The recognition
among educators of the importance of financial literacy has been fueled by the growing
complexity of the financial knowledge needed to successfully manage family life and retirement,
which may or may not include social security. We are all required to make economic and
financial decisions on a daily basis.
“The importance of basic financial skills underscores the need to begin the learning process as
early as possible. Indeed, improving basic financial education at the elementary and secondary
school level will provide a foundation of financial literacy that can help prevent younger people
from making poor decisions that can take years to overcome.” (Greenspan)
In an age when high school seniors already use a credit card, one in five college students have
four or more credit cards and four in ten Americans admit that they are living beyond their
means, financial literacy is essential to a sound economy. A 2004 Visa USA survey found that 56
percent of parents believe high school graduates are totally unprepared to manage their personal
finances responsibly. The “buy now-pay later” lifestyle is so pervasive in our nation that it is
easy for individuals to fall into debt that is beyond their ability to repay. According to the United
States Bankruptcy Court, the number of bankruptcies in Nebraska increased by 35 percent; from 8,992 in
2004 to 12,110 in 2005. Now, more than ever, Nebraskans must be prepared to function in a
dynamic economic environment and to take advantage of the opportunities offered by this
country’s financial, market-driven system.
Educators play a crucial role in determining what students learn. Broad-based recognition of the
need for financial literacy has furthered efforts to expand financial education over the past
decade. The movement to promote financial literacy across the nation has advanced on a number
of fronts. The National Council on Economic Education, the leading national organization in
economic and financial literacy, publishes a Survey of the States report on the condition of
economic and financial education in the schools. While the results show improvement in the
states’ development of standards in economics, the results of this annual survey also show the
need for improving financial literacy with only 38 states, Nebraska being one, that have
standards in personal finance.
The Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy began measuring financial literacy nine
years ago. Jump$tart identified that building teen personal finance skills was a top worry for
parents. The July 2005 National Jump$tart Coalition Survey of 1,000 parents of high school
students indicated that “developing good personal financial skills and being able to handle their
money (74 percent) ranked ahead of both following the wrong crowd (58 percent) and
2
drugs/alcohol use (56 percent) in terms of concerns parents have for their children’s futures.
Only personal safety ranked higher (89 percent).”
Status of Financial Education in Nebraska
Financial education is taught in three major areas in Nebraska public and nonpublic schools:
Business, Marketing and Management; Family and Consumer Sciences; and Social Sciences.
Economics standards are part of the Social Studies/History Standards that will be assessed and
reported locally during the current school year—2006-07 at grades 4 or 5, 8 and 11. STAR
standards for social studies are scheduled to be reported to the Nebraska Department of
Education for the 2008-09 school year. These STAR standards are asterisked in the table below.
Elementary students learn about financial literacy through their social studies curriculum.
Middle-level students learn about financial literacy through courses in social studies, family and
consumer sciences and business education. The table below identifies the economic standards by grade level.
Refer to Appendix A to see the standards in their entirety.
Economic Standards
Grade 1 SS/H 01.6 Economic Concepts*
SS/H 01.7 Economics—earn, spend, save
Grade 4 SS/H 04.8 Economics—interactions of
consumers and producers*
SS/H 04.9 Economics—money and the
financial system
Grade 8 SS/H 08.3.5 Economics—citizens as producers
and consumers
SS/H 08.3.6 Economics—economic system*
Grade 12 SS/H 12.3.10 Economics—economic systems
SS/H 12.3.11 Economics—free market
economy
SS/H 12.3.12 Economics—analyze the role of
US economy
SS/H 12.3.13 Economics—international trade*
The Economic standards are addressed through either standalone courses, specialized units of
instruction or through infusion in other courses. One example of infusion is the Omaha Public
Schools. They have added economics themed curriculum to Conestoga (K-6) and Marrs (5-8)
magnet schools. In both cases the schools also infuse economics into the math and technology
curriculum. Teachers have additional economic and personal finance objectives for each grade
level beyond the district curriculum. Enrichment opportunities such as in-school savings banks,
Stock Market Game participation, Econ-Olympics events, guest speakers, economics resources
libraries and additional professional development for teachers help to advance the economics
curriculum in these magnet schools.
Approved Perkins Programs—A minimum of one semester of financial education is required
in business education and family and consumer sciences to qualify for Perkins funds. At present,
85 percent (208 out of 244) of the public school districts meet program standards for business
education and/or family and consumer sciences. Courses that teach financial education include
Personal Finance, Introduction to Business, Business Economics, Economics, Consumer
Economics and Independent Living (www.nde.state.ne.us/NCE/, Program Standards).
Current Enrollments—Based on student enrollment data for the 2005-06 school year, a total of
18,769 students were enrolled in one semester or more of financial education in grades 9 – 12
(duplicated count).
| 2005-06 Public and Nonpublic Enrollments Grades 9 - 12 |
| Discipline Area |
Course Title |
No. of Courses |
No. of Students |
| Business |
Economics 104 |
1 |
757 |
| |
Personal Finance 263 |
4 |
669 |
| |
Business, Marketing
& Management
Introduction to
Business
213 |
3 |
364 |
| Family & Consumer Sciences |
Consumer Economics |
39 |
427 |
| |
Independent Living 186 |
2 |
287 |
| Social Sciences |
Economics 342 |
2 |
265 |
| Totals |
|
1,147 |
18,769 |
Linking to Nebraska Standards—In 2003, over one hundred academic and career education
teachers developed statewide linkages between standards and essential learnings. Another 500
teachers validated the linkages and learned how to utilize the website, Links to Nebraska
Standards (nelinks.nde.state.ne.us). This web site is designed to use technology to align the
social studies standards to the career education essential learnings. The website enables all
Nebraska teachers and administrators to design their own reports of validated statewide linkages.
In Appendix A you will find sample reports that show how the business education and family
and consumer sciences essential learnings align with the social studies standards, which includes
the standards for Economics.
Districts Offering Financial Education—Data provided by the Nebraska Department of
Education for the 2005-06 school year indicates that 299 out of 341 or 87.7 percent of the public
and nonpublic high schools (9-12) offer at least one financial education course. Refer to
Appendix B for additional data referring to financial education courses being offered by
Nebraska schools.
Districts Requiring Financial Education—An online survey conducted in the Fall of 2006 by
the Nebraska Council on Economic Education in partnership with the Nebraska Department of
Education, identified that from the 178 high school buildings reporting, 54 public and nonpublic
schools require either Personal Finance or Consumer Economics for graduation (Appendix C).
When comparing similar surveys conducted in 1999 and 2003, it is evident that more school
districts are expecting all students to have some form of financial education. For example, during
4
the past two decades, Lincoln Public Schools has required all of their graduates to take 5 credits
(1 semester) of economics through either a social studies course or a business course that
includes a personal finance focus. Financial education is also integrated and reinforced through
other courses offered by family and consumer sciences and mathematics. Smaller districts, such
as Elmwood-Murdock, Fillmore Central and Aurora, have established similar financial education
requirements. In 2001, Omaha Public Schools began requiring all sophomores to take their
Introduction to Economics course, which includes a strong focus on financial education.
All of these curriculum changes are to be commended, as the best opportunity for improving the
economic and financial literacy of all students occurs in high school. Efforts must continue to
build on these courses to ensure a solid foundation in understanding the application of economics
concepts and principles to personal finance, business, entrepreneurship and careers.
Nebraska Career Education Model— The NCE Model, therefore, reinforces the need for
students to learn about financial responsibility regardless of career focus. One of the five
underlying themes that are integrated across all 16 of the career clusters is financial literacy.
In addition, in the Finance Career Cluster students will study career opportunities that relate to
making strategic decisions to obtain, save, protect and grow the financial assets of businesses and
individuals.
Nebraska Career Student Organizations—Career Student Organizations (CSOs) are an
integral part of Nebraska Career Education. The CSOs support financial literacy in many ways.
For example, one of the nine national and state FBLA goals is to “encourage and practice
efficient money management.” FCCLA has a student-led peer education financial fitness team
that promotes financial literacy. Financial education is integral to FFA through member’s
Supervised Agricultural Experience programs and the chapter, state and American FFA degree
program.
Students’ financial literacy competencies are assessed through a variety of CSO competitive
events at the district, state and national levels. Several example events are Consumer Issues,
Financial Analysis Management Team Decision Making, Accounting, Business Financial Plan,
Risk Management and the Agricultural Proficiency Award Program. Students demonstrate
financial problem-solving and decision-making skills by engaging business partnerships and
conducting community service projects and chapter financial management activities.
Financial Education Partners
Nebraska Financial Education Coalition—Shirley Baum and Bonnie Sibert represent the
Nebraska Department of Education at the quarterly meetings of the Nebraska Financial
Education Coalition held either in Lincoln or Omaha. Approximately 70 individuals representing
50 businesses, governmental agencies and profit/nonprofit organizations have joined secondary
and postsecondary educators to promote financial literacy from children to senior citizens. The
goal is to develop a strategy as a coalition that can help determine where partnerships can be
developed to support efforts that are already underway, reduce redundancy and help raise
awareness about the importance of personal financial literacy. During the January 2007 meeting,
5
the group will strengthen the work of the Nebraska Financial Education Coalition by affiliating
with the national organization, Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.
Nebraska Council on Economic Education—The Nebraska Council is a national leader in
improving and promoting economic education in grades K-12 and is consistently ranked among
the best and most successful organizations in economic education. The Council is one of the key
innovators in economic and financial literacy education and is responsible for many of the
educational tools, products and resources available to teachers nationwide. The mission of the
Council is to act as a catalyst and lead a statewide initiative to advance economic literacy. The
Council believes that students should develop economic ways of thinking and problem solving
that they can use in their lives as consumers, savers, investors, members of the workforce,
responsible citizens and effective participants in a global economy. Over the last 3 years, with its
5 Centers for Economic Education located across the state, the Council conducted 35 inservice
and pre-service courses and over 130 workshops and presentations for over 2,000 current and
future educators.
The Nebraska Council sponsored professional development events for Nebraska teachers also
includes the Economics Fellows program at UNL, Virtual Economics training at local ESUs,
online workshops and training programs, the Nebraska Career Education Conference and the
EcEdWeb Internet Portal, a national recognized resource in economic education located at
www.ecedweb.unomaha.edu/home.htm.
The Nebraska Council also offers student activities such as the Stock Market Game, the
Nebraska Economics Challenge and Economics Day for High School Students. These programs
have engaged over 13,000 students over the last 3 years. Professional development for Nebraska
teachers included the Economics Fellows program at UNL, Virtual Economics training at ESUs
and Nebraska Career Education Conferences and the EcEdWeb
(ecedweb.unomaha.edu/home.htm).
Larry Starr and Bonnie Sibert represent NDE at regular meetings held with Nebraska Council
representatives, which facilitates networking. Over the past ten years, the Council and NDE have
worked collaboratively to conduct three statewide surveys, two Virtual Economics trainings and host four Money Talks Conferences—Personal Financial Forum for Students. Senator Bob
Kerrey had previously launched the first personal financial forum designed to make students and
teachers more aware of the importance of financial literacy. The conferences featured many
Nebraska politicians, government and higher-education officials and business leaders. NDE has
provided promotion for Council activities and special recognition of economics students and
teachers. This partnership is extremely valuable in the success of economic education in
Nebraska.
FutureForce Nebraska—This initiative is a collaboration of key partners working to develop
career pathways that help students realize employment opportunities in Nebraska. Their goals are
to enhance awareness, identify opportunities to increase alignment within secondary and
postsecondary programs and provide career preparation and training for students (K-20) and
adults. The Finance Career Cluster was identified as an industry targeted for growth by the State
Department of Economic Development, based on employment needs projected by the
Department of Labor-Workforce Development. Representatives from education, government and
business entities will meet quarterly during the next two years to promote finance careers and to
identify the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in financial careers. Commissioner Doug
Christensen and Rich Katt serve on the Board of Directors and meet regularly with the group.
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Omaha Branch—Part of the Federal Reserve Bank's
mission is to promote economic and financial literacy to help consumers make better economic
decisions that strengthen the U.S. economy. As such, the local branch partners with organizations
such as the Nebraska Council on Economic Education and the Nebraska Department of
Education to support teacher training on economic and financial concepts. In addition, the branch
provides free resources and publications to educators on these topics, and has conducted teacher
workshops on issues such as money, banking and entrepreneurship. The branch provides free
tours to high school students, and sponsors two academic competitions—Fed Challenge, an
intensive study of the U.S. economy and monetary policy for teams of high school students and
an economics essay contest. The branch has also been heavily involved in the development of the
Nebraska Financial Education Coalition.
Conclusion
“The case for economic and financial literacy is obvious. High school graduates will be making
economic choices all their lives, as breadwinners and consumers and as citizens and voters. A
wide range of people will bombard them with economic information and misinformation for
their entire lives. They will need some capacity for critical judgment. They will need it whether
or not they go to college,” as stated by James Tobin, a Nobel laureate in economics.
Opportunities for Nebraska students to receive a solid foundation in financial education are
varied and readily available. Many, but not all, Nebraska students are graduating with knowledge
that prepares them to make sound financial decisions in their personal and professional lives. As
Nebraska educators strive to prepare students to attain 21st Century Skills, financial, economic
and business literacy is an emerging content area critical to success in communities and the
workplace. A financial and economically literate citizenry will pay big dividends in the state’s
future. Educators will continue to play an important role in preparing Nebraska students to be
financially literate consumers in today’s global economy.
Bibliography
“2005-06 Nebraska Council on Economic Education Annual Report.” University of Nebraska, Lincoln.“2006
National Jump$tart Coalition Survey.” Jump$tart, www.jumpstart.org.
“Debt Trends in Nebraska.” Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest, October
2006.
“EcEdWeb: Economic Education Web.” www.Ecedweb.unomaha.edu.
“Focus on Finance.” Keying In: The Newsletter of the National Business Education Association,
March 2006.
Greenspan, Alan. “The Importance of Financial Education Today.” Social Education, 69 (2),
National Council for the Social Studies, 2005.
“Nebraska Career Education Web.” www.state.ne.us/NCE.
“Personal Finance Education.” National Association of State Boards of Education Policy
Update, July 2003.
“A State Leadership Action Guide to 21st Century Skills.” www.21stcenturyskills.org
Appendixes
Appendix A
1. Social Studies Standards
2. Business Education Essential Learnings
3. Family and Consumer Sciences Essential Learnings
Appendix B
1. Distribution of Financial Education by Course Title
2. 2005-06 Public and Nonpublic High Schools (9-12) Offering One or
More Courses in Financial Education
Appendix C
1. High Schools Requiring Personal Finance or Consumer Education
Identified by the 2006 Nebraska Economics Online Survey
