Alarming and widespread deficiency in financial literacy among the young has led to launching a new school subject and a new textbook.
With the donation of 150 textbooks ‘Moj novac, moja budućnost’ (My Money, My Future) in the premises of the First Gymnasium in Novi Zagreb, financial literacy has for the first time become part of the education system in Croatia, reports Poslovni.hr on September 19, 2017.
Although it is, for now, an optional subject, for the Croatian society, where many people struggle with financial problems, it is a big and important step. Measurement of financial literacy conducted in 2016 has shown that among all the groups surveyed, young people have the lowest level of awareness, knowledge and skills required to make the right financial decisions.
The first gymnasium in Zagreb is the first school in Croatia to enable its students to acquire knowledge in the field of financial literacy with the textbook ‘My Money, My Future’. We are proud of the fact that we are setting trends in education in this area and we believe that our students and their parents will recognize and appreciate it,” said Dunja Marušić Brezetić, headmistress of the First Gymnasium.
The curriculum of the optional subject on financial literacy is based on the first Croatian textbook of financial literacy called ‘My Money, my future’, which was created in collaboration with Štedopis Association and Visa Europe.
The content of the textbook is approved by the national educational management system – Croatian Education and Teacher Training Agency and aligned with the Program of Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Content of Civic Education and Education for Secondary Schools, focusing on personal finance issues. This will enable students to acquire knowledge of what money is and how to use it in everyday life, how to responsibly manage their personal budget, savings, investments and their rights as a user of financial products and services.
More than 5,000 textbooks will be donated to schools all over Croatia. The content of the textbook ‘My money, my future’ is divided into four parts: Consumer Protection (written by Andrea Razum, PhD), Money (prof.Marijana Ivanov, PhD), Financial Institutions and Products (prof. Marijana Ivanov, PhD) and Personal Finance Planning ( Dajana Barbić, PhD).
The content of the textbook for all interested parents and students is available for download completely free of charge on the web pages of Štedopis.
“It is intended that all students, both those in Zagreb and those in Lastovo or Vukovar, have equal access to financial education and thus equal opportunities for better financial decisions,” said Marina Ralašić, president of Štedopis and textbook editor.
Translated from Poslovni.hr
