New Investor Education Fund Study Reveals: Ontario Parents Would Give an A+ to Teachers Who Add Financial Literacy to their Lesson Plans

Financial Literacy Authority Also Announces: Launch of Mind Over Money Educators Academy, New InspireFinancialLearning.ca Website and Student Video Contest

TORONTO, Nov. 21, 2013 /CNW/ - Ontario parents resoundingly agree that financial literacy should be taught in high schools and would give an A⁺ grade to Ontario teachers who add it to their lesson plans - even if their kids get those lessons at home. A province-wide survey released today by Investor Education Fund (IEF) finds overwhelming parental support for classroom-based financial literacy learning. Most Ontario parents (84 per cent) say it is important; more than half (53 per cent) say it is extremely important - even if they're already teaching their kids about money matters.

The "Parental interest in financial literacy study" (available on GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca) also reveals that more than one-quarter (28 per cent) of parents believe financial education is not currently offered in high schools and more than half (53 per cent) said they don't know if it is offered or not. Financial literacy education was introduced in the Ontario school curriculum for grades 4-12 in fall 2012. Additional findings from the study, which was based on 500 online interviews conducted by The Brondesbury Group with Ontario parents of high school students in September, include:

• Only 4 out of 10 parents believe their teens are prepared to manage money after high school
• When parents teach their kids about money, they primarily focus on saving for long-term goals (73 per cent), how interest builds up debt (68 per cent), how to build a budget (61 per cent) and how money can grow through saving and investing (56 per cent)
• 14 per cent of Ontario parents don't teach their teens about any of these topics

IEF has captured key findings from the study in an infographic, "Are teens learning enough about money?" - available at GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca.

"This study reveals how strong the appetite for formal financial literacy education is among parents of Ontario high school students," says IEF President Tom Hamza. "It also shows that we need to better support Ontario teachers in getting financial lessons into their classes."

In order to accomplish this, IEF also announces today the launch of three important resources for financial literacy:

• Mind Over Money Educator Academy: IEF offers free personal and professional development workshops for Ontario educators teaching grades 4-12 through the Mind Over Money Educator Academy. The 90-minute workshops are offered at schools, boards and conferences across Ontario. The training program offers two different workshops: A Teacher's Introduction to Financial Literacy with an overview of existing research and Hands-on Activities, Teaching Tips, Curriculum and More for the Classroom. The fundamentals of this program have been used by more than 10,000 Ontario teachers.
• New InspireFinancialLearning.ca Website: Complementing the launch of the new teacher training program, IEF introduces a refreshed, mobile-friendly, highly interactive InspireFinancialLearning.ca. The new web destination provides free curriculum-based interdisciplinary Mind Over Money lesson plans, videos and activities suitable for students in grades 4-12 - to help teachers and parents support financial education in schools and at home.
• Mind Over Money Student Video Contest: To encourage teens to get inspired about financial learning, IEF is running the Mind Over Money Video Contest for Ontario students in grades 4-12. Students are prompted to submit their video answers, individually or collectively with classmates, to the question: "What should every student know about money?" The contest will run until January 31, 2014. The winner of each grade group will receive a $250 gift certificate to use towards school supplies.

"At Investor Education Fund, we're committed to providing unbiased and research-based information that supports teachers and parents in their shared goal of raising money-wise teens and young adults," says Hamza. "Through the resources we offer at InspireFinancialLearning.ca, I want parents, teachers and students to know that we're all in this together."

About Investor Education Fund:
Investor Education Fund (IEF) is a non-profit organization founded and supported by the Ontario Securities Commission that provides unbiased and independent financial tools to help you make better money decisions. IEF offers research-based financial information to consumers via GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca and to students, parents and teachers through InspireFinancialLearning.ca and extensive classroom programs.

SOURCE: Investor Education Fund (IEF)

Media Contact:
Margo Rapport
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416.895.5672