SSPS launches a co-created Financial Education Programme to raise financial capacity of primary school students

With the primary objective of equipping young students with essential financial capabilities so as to enable them to achieve long-term financial well-being and personal fulfilment, the Department of Social Sciences and Policy Studies (SSPS) has received a generous donation of HK$56.6 million from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust to launch a financial education project specially tailored for upper primary students: “The Hong Kong Jockey Club Financial Education Programme”. This project will run in collaboration with The University of Chicago, the Hong Kong Family Welfare Society, the CoCoon Foundation, and the Soloman Learning Group for 3 years and 8 months from March 2024.

Professor Christina Yu Wai-mui heads the project team, which comprises a group of experts from SSPS, including Professor Chou Kee-lee, Dr Tan Weiqiang, Dr Alex Zhu Yuefeng, Dr Eric Law Kim-fai, and Dr Ray Lee Kwok-wai. While Professor Yu has rich experience in teaching and conducting research in a wide range of business education areas, including business and entrepreneurship education, personal finance education, and business teacher education, other team members will contribute their expert knowledge in their respective fields to the project.

“Currently, the new generation has little idea about money, such as risk, loss, and debt, due to the limited financial education in local schools. As we have already entered the digital finance age, their financial knowledge deficiency is alarming. We hope the project can improve the situation and empower the student participants to possess financial capacities and establish positive values about using money,” Professor Yu said.

Professor Yu remarked that one of the aims of this collaborative project is to improve the current financial education by providing knowledge, skills and attitudes about money management, including saving, spending, budgeting, risk and protection to primary schoolers for facilitating their daily sensible financial decision-making. “To enable relevant parties drawing impacts on students’ understanding of money and wealth management to be on the same page, a holistic approach will be adopted in the project. Thus, the project is designed not only to educate students but also to cultivate teachers and parents with the right mindset about financial capacity and well-being,” she said.

Professional support provided to teachers includes the provision of high-quality teaching materials, professional development programmes, and a vibrant teacher community in the practice. To raise financial literacy among parents, the project also offers parent-child financial education workshops and seminars.

In collaboration with The University of Chicago, the project will design a financial literacy curriculum for primary school students. The curriculum will cultivate a critical life skill that directly impacts the students' lifelong financial capability through instilling financial knowledge, developing the right mindset and motivation, and honing their financial decision-making competencies. The project team is fully aware of the latest curriculum reform of General Studies (Humanities Studies) in primary schools of the city. In response to the recent curricular reform, the project will provide timely learning materials, teacher training, and relevant supporting resources to ensure an inclusive school-based implementation of financial education.

With the combined efforts of all participating organisations, the project endeavours to transform the financial landscape of Hong Kong by empowering the next generation with the knowledge and skills necessary for financial and personal well-being. To measure the project impact, the team will collect related information about students’ financial literacy before and after their participation in the project. Focus group interviews will also be conducted to solicit information on participants’ understanding of financial soundness.