Syllabus Level of Imparting Personal Financial Literacy Based
on Jumpstart
Standards
Table 1 provides the details’ analysis of Jumpstart coalition standards
benchmarked by the contents of Tanzania primary, secondary and advanced
secondary schools financial related subjects’ syllabus. The analysis is
based on the detailed contents of these subjects and the extent it can
impart personal financial knowledge to the learner in light of jumpstart
standards.
The results indicate that; primary school level with learners at the age
interval of 7-14 years (Bommier & Lambert, 2000) are not taught any
subject related to personal financial understanding in the formal
curriculum. It is only in the subject of mathematics where they learn
about basic calculations which might be helpful in their future
financial analysis. It is clearly that at this age interval children in
Tanzania are denied the right to financial knowledge. And at this age
the children typically get some clues about money through other
experiential means or being informally informed by either family and/or
other members of the society. This is a critical issue considering this
is primary foundational level, the situation may be adding to the
prevalence of financial illiteracy in all age intervals. When children
are denied any hint about money at this
age the preferential and the importance of valuing financial information
in their lifetime is hampered.
In secondary school with children of 14-18 years it is where the
education system introduces financial related subjects. These subjects
are commerce, bookkeeping and part of mathematics. The jumpstart
standards evaluation of the courses display the results. Mathematics
subjects somehow impart personal financial literacy by 27%, the topics
contents doesn’t directly impart personal financial knowledge at all,
and 73% of this subject doesn’t impart financial literacy. These scores
in mathematics subject may be so because it is not a financial core
subject. Commerce as one of the core financial subject directly impart
financial literacy by 23%, somehow by 65% and 12% of the contents has
nothing to do with personal financial development of the learners. The
other core subject is bookkeeping, and this one impart financial
knowledge directly by 38%, somehow by 54% and the 8% of the subject
is not related to personal financial development of the learner. The two
core financial related subjects of bookkeeping and commerce has average
financial knowledge directly imparting effect of 30.5% which is below
half the subjects. However, these two subjects are not mandatorily
taught in all schools. They are only core subjects in business oriented
schools and other schools are at liberty to choose whether to teach or
not. Therefore, such a lower percentage of imparting financial
knowledge, still the knowledge is only enjoyed by few luck children who
may go up to university to meet their financial related subjects in the
system.
The advanced secondary school education syllabus with learners of age
averaging on the interval of 17-20 years has 4 subjects which are deemed
to be related to impartation of financial literacy. These subjects are
mathematics, commerce, economics and accountancy. The results from the
jumpstart standard comparison shows the subject of mathematics doesn’t
direct impart financial knowledge to the learner, 19% somehow impart
financial knowledge and 81% of the Contents is not related to personal
financial capability development. Commerce which is one of the core
financial related subjects doesn’t directly impart financial literacy
but somehow impart financial knowledge by 73% and the rest of
percentage doesn’t relate to personal financial development. Accountancy
directly impart financial knowledge by 27% and somehow impart by 61%
and the 125 is not related to personal financial development. Economics
syllabus contents at this level doesn’t impart directly impart financial
knowledge but is somehow impart by 27% and 73% of the contents is not
related to personal financial development. At this level students learn
three combination core subjects and the only combinations that combine
three core subjects is ECA (Economics, commerce and accountancy). The
rest of the combination can have 1 or no financial related subject in
their study. Therefore, the financial related core courses again are
studied by very few students in schools which offer such combinations.
The rest of the students may go without any financial related course up
the radar.
Mabula and Ping 5Table 1. Tanzania Primary and secondary school financial
subjects’ syllabus on the eye of Jumpstart standards