Toward critically compassionate financial literacy: How elementary preservice teachers view the standards

ABSTRACT

This study examined preservice teachers’ agreement with critically compassionate financial literacy standards and the financial literacy standards developed by The Council for Economic Education for Grade 4. The preservice teachers, enrolled in elementary social studies methods courses at two institutions, responded to surveys about their agreement with traditional and compassionate standards for financial literacy before and after a visual, audio, and dramatic art intervention integrated into the elementary methods course. After their experience of three art-based instructional activities about social injustice, the preservice teachers expressed more agreement with compassionate financial literacy standards for Grade 4 than they did before the activities. This research informs the social education community about alternative conceptions of financial literacy, the relevance of art-based instruction to social education and financial education, and the prospects for affecting teacher candidates’ perspectives toward financial literacy. Art-based instruction offers the potential to improve compassionate approaches for financial literacy.

KEYWORDS:

• Art education
• compassion
• critical theory
• economics
• elementary education
• feminism
• financial literacy

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Sadie Filipski for her enthusiastic assistance with qualitative and quantitative data entry while a student at Northern Illinois University. We would also like to thank Dr. Steve Mertens for his thoughts on statistical analysis and Dr. Stephen Karlson for helping us make the manuscript more lucid. We are grateful for Dr. Beth Canfield-Simbro’s kind proofing assistance.