High school financial education key to boosting knowledge: Poll
Students who receive personal financial education while at high school are more confident in their understanding of financial issues later in life, a new poll reveals.
The research, conducted by Op4G found that while the evidence showed financial education was critical to ensuring people understand financial concepts, almost two-thirds of US respondents reported that they had been taught little or nothing about personal finance while at school.
The poll found that 61 per cent of adults who said they have received a lot of personal finance instruction while at high school rated themselves as "fluent in both basic and advanced financial topics".
However, that figure dropped to 22 per cent for those who had received "some" training, and 19 per cent for those who had received no education on the subject.
The research identified a gender gap in the area of high school financial education, with just 29 per cent of female respondents reporting that they have received "some or a lot" of instruction on personal finance while at school, compared with 43 per cent of males.
The poll also found that 62 per cent of the 2000 respondents believed that financial education should be compulsory for high school students, with 88 per cent saying it should at least be available.
AUTHOR
Nicholas O'Donoghue
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