Is economic and financial education the best way to approach finance training?

Abstract

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development promotes financial education and national strategies to enhance financial literacy. The strict view of financial education as a tool for shaping market agents limits the transformative capacity of education. Economic and financial education presents an educational approach that involves both financial literacy and socialization and economic psychology. The traditional view advocates that students educated in economic and financial matters should, among other factors, demonstrate a high level of financial literacy and the ability to develop attitudes toward saving and avoiding debt. Therefore, the central objective of this study is to understand whether the level of financial literacy impacts attitudes towards saving and debt among students at the Paula Souza State Center for Technological Education. The search for a more appropriate approach to economic and financial education justifies the presentation of the research results. This is quantitative research with correlational and cross-sectional objectives. The results show that there is a significant association between the level of financial literacy and attitudes towards saving and debt. Therefore, opting for an educational approach that encourages financial literacy is a way to contribute to achieving results in economic socialization.