Wednesday 22 July 11:25
- 12:55
Hall: 13 - Room 10 SA
Chair:
Marchetti Antonella
Co-Chair:
Valle Annalisa
Discussant:
Iannaccone Antonio
Division: Division 5: Education and School Psychology
Financial literacy is increasingly recognized as a cornerstone of citizenship education, equipping individuals with the competences needed to navigate the growing complexity of economic life. From the dematerialization of payments to the digitization of financial transactions, young generations face unprecedented challenges in understanding value, planning resources, and making responsible decisions. Schools are therefore called to play a pivotal role in fostering financial literacy from the earliest years of education through adolescence and into adulthood. This symposium brings together international contributions that examine financial education across the life span, with a particular focus on the school context.
The symposium opens with presenting how financial education has become a national policy priority in Italy, following international assessments such as PISA. This contribution highlights the integration of financial education into curricula, the monitoring of student outcomes, and the training of teachers as critical levers for long-term impact. The second presentation shifts to practice-oriented innovation, illustrating how experiential programs—such as peer education and interdisciplinary teaching units—can effectively bring financial topics into everyday school life and strengthen autonomy, empowerment, and decision-making among students.
The third contribution discusses how financial education can be introduced in primary school through teacher-oriented tools (Learning Unit) and child-centered training (financial education training), highlighting both opportunities and challenges for everyday teaching practice. Complementing this developmental focus, the fourth presentation introduces the design and evaluation of serious games for adolescents and young adults. By combining behavioral finance insights with digital learning environments, this work shows how motivation and conceptual understanding can be enhanced through gameplay, with direct applicability in secondary and vocational schools.
The symposium concludes with a discussant's reflection on the cultural and psychological transformations associated with financial education and digitization. This perspective emphasizes the need for new models capable of addressing how children and adolescents perceive financial value in rapidly changing contexts.
