The National Consumer and Financial Literacy Framework was endorsed by the Australian Education Systems Officials Committee on 4 November 2005.
The Financial Literacy Foundation played a key role in the development of the framework which is the result of a directive from Ministerial Council of Education, Employment and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) in May 2005.
Through this framework, all Australian school children will have access to financial literacy education in their compulsory years at school. The framework describes the essential knowledge, skills, understanding and values that all young Australians should have the opportunity to learn from Kindergarten to Year 10. This includes income and expenses, saving, good and bad debt, exchange, value, responsibility and liability as they relate to consumer and financial literacy. The Framework is a multi-disciplinary framework that relates to employability skills.
It will build levels of knowledge and understanding, competence, enterprise and responsibility to provide a sound basis for financial decisions students will face in adult life.
The framework is now available to teachers, curriculum developers, and those developing educational materials. The Foundation will use the framework as a measure of quality of educational materials it lists on its website.
Already, the framework has been incorporated into the National Statements of Learning agreed to by MCEETYA, and will:
- provide guidance to states and territories in the development of their Kindergarten to Year 10 curricula relevant to consumer and financial literacy
- provide guidance to developers of resource materials
- support professional learning and development of all teachers of consumer and financial literacy.
A working party established by MCEETYA developed the framework, and submitted it to AESOC, receiving approval in November 2005. The working party included representatives from all federal, state and territory consumer affairs agencies, and education departments, and also, the Financial Literacy Foundation.
Click here to access the framework from the MCEETYA website.