Introduction

I had the fabulous opportunity and pleasure to interview a 16 year old student fresh from receiving exam results for the Certificate in Financial Education. I've always been given the impression that students in the teen bracket find financial education boring and learn nothing so to find someone willing to talk about their experience was a real steal. I don't know the student and so I was also a little bit nervous of the honest account I would need to write up in case it was really bad! But the policy researcher in me just had to find out more.

The Qualification

The Certificate in Financial Education (CeFE) is a pretty new qualification and is awarded as a level 2, GCSE equivalent. The qualification is accredited by Ofqual and covers the following content:

Public finance and the economy,

Including how these relate to:

social, political and cultural factorspolitical institutions and processesfinancial planningbudgeting and financial management tools for managing moneybusiness financial managementbenefits to, and consequences for, businesses, individuals and society

For this particular student, the qualification only entered a choice on the school curriculum in 2017, so it's early doors to benchmark its appeal, success or any outcomes. I can tell you for one that I'm excited about it and if there is any learning from this blog, I'd be really delighted.

The Interview

Q1. What made you decide to take the Certificate in Financial Education?

A. It was offered to me as an alternative to Religious Education, a lot of us hated RE & really welcomed the chance to study something practical.

Q2. Were you genuinely interested in taking the CeFE, or was it just a get out option from RE?

A. Well, both. I really did not want to take RE but I did think that CeFE would be a good subject to study.

Q3. Do you think it helps to encourage more teen interest in financial education now that there is a formal, recognised qualification?

A. Yes, I do. I'd be far less interested in financial education stuff in GCSE years because my whole focus is on passing my exams. I don't get why anything else would be loaded on us really.

Q4. Who taught you the qualification in your school?

A. It was taught by my PE teacher.

Q5. Was your PE teacher skilled in the subject area?

A. No. The PE teacher had to dictate all the presentation slides to us, they admitted knowing nothing at all about the course.

Q5. How did that lack of knowledge impact you and the rest of the class?

A. We all felt the same, that we needed a teacher that had proper knowledge but the teacher did their best. I failed one of my units and have to take a re-sit.

Q6. Do you think you would have passed with a more knowledgeable teacher?

A. Yes, definitely. There were times when we all wanted to clarify things but couldn't. If it wasn't in the slides, that was it.

Q7. You seem pretty positive about the qualification still, how did your other class mates feel about the qualification?

A. Most of them, if not all thought it was a really useful qualification and were all glad they took it.

Q8. Can you tell me 3 top positives from taking the qualification?

A. Yes. 1. I feel able to plan for the future and make sure I save money. 2. I feel that I can manage my money better. 3. I have a spark of interest in business and enterprise which I may develop later in my life.

Q9. What's your attitude to borrowing money now?

A. I would say I would be a cautious borrower. I understand that what I borrow I have to repay over a long time and that scares me right now.

Q10. What style of teaching did you have and what style would you have preferred? (I explain Direct Learning, blended learning, flipped learning)

A. It was direct learning mainly from slides. I really like the sound of flipped learning and I would really have appreciated that style of learning for all of my GCSEs!

What have we learned?

The positives

This interview rings really positive vibes with me, that finally, with a formal recognised qualification on the table, there is interest in financial education from the children of our future - our youth. Not only that, but the students really do benefit in ways that anyone in financial education would want them to. This is a wonderful thing, it's music to our ears.

Clearly schools are championing the qualification in the curriculum too, but are no doubt feeling financial pressure to fully embrace this valuable qualification.

The negatives

As an adult educator myself, I am really disappointed to learn that modern teaching methods such as flipped classroom learning are not being routinely added as teaching practices in schools, or at the very least being tested and bench-marked for outcomes. There are so many free digital platforms and tools to facilitate this and they absolutely do improve student/teacher engagement. Crucially they assist teachers and often improve exam results. It seems a crying shame, but then there is a time investment in learning new tricks. It's worth the trade off in my view and experience.

Not least, the poor PE teacher, why is it always the PE teacher?? This is such an important, relevant qualification of our time, does it really deserve any less, do our students deserve any less than a qualified expert teaching critical life skills? I'll leave that one with you all.

Money Advice Hub supporting students

To thank the student for participating in this interview, Money Advice Hub gave a £10 gift voucher as a small token of appreciation. The student did not want to leave her name or school but please give your virtual thanks to Miss X from the East of England for sharing her experience.

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Links

If you want to learn more about CeFE, the best link I could find was the London Institute of Banking and Finance.