The trajectory of financial educationin schools in the state of Tocantins: from the pilot project to the establishment of a teacher education hub at the Federal University of Tocantins

This chapter is aimed at describing the process for the universalization of financial education in schools in the state of Tocantins, including articulations, teacher and multiplier training, deployment experiences and results attained in terms of spreading knowledge and its appropriation by the community.

The role of AEF-Brasil in the execution of the National Strategy for Financial Education

Convinced of the importance of financial education to the solidity of the financial system and the quality of life of Brazilian society, four institutions representing the financial market instituted AEF-Brasil in 2012, geared towards elevating this cause to the level of the most pressing causes in Brazil. They are: ANBIMA (Brazilian Financial and Capital Markets Association),B3 (Brazil Stock Exchange and Over-the-Counter Market), CNSeg (National Confederation of Companies of General Insurance, Private Pension, Life, Supplementary Health Insurance, and Capitalization Insurance) and FEBRABAN (Brazilian Federation of Banks). Allowing financial education to reach every Brazilian means leveraging equal opportunities for autonomous and healthy financial decisions in their lives, thereby bolstering citizenship. By developing these projects, AEF-Brasil has contributed and continues to contribute to social and economic development and, especially, to the exercise of full citizenship and the practice of democracy.

The experience of the financial education hub in the state of Paraíba

Financial education is one of the most recent themes in the scope of public policies, given its elevated capacity to generate positive external effects (LUSARDI, 2006). The challenge created with its integration into the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) in 2020 hints at this relevance. It became the apex among several areas of knowledge, by becoming part of a series of subjects included in the Primary and High School Education curriculum. The idea is that this movement leads to a reformulation of the Basic Education curriculum through the efforts of all subnational entities, aimed at preparing pedagogical projects at schools that include financial education (BANCO CENTRAL DO BRASIL, 2013).

Financial Education and Economic Psychology: a brief discussion and some recommendations

This chapter examines an intersection between the areas of financial education and economic psychology. The objective is to discuss the importance of dialogue between them, based on material produced by organizations and countries considered benchmarks in financial education, such as the OECD – Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Kingdom, Australia and others, along with data collected over a 27-year trajectory in the area of economic psychology and, over the past 15 years, in efforts and analyses dedicated to financial education.

The experience of training teachers in financial education in the State of Rio Grande do Sul

The Ministry of Education (MEC) included financial education in the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) as a contemporary theme that will integrate the Basic Education curriculum. Thus, based on minimum content, laid out in the BNCC, and a transversal proposal, the pilot and pedagogical projects of both public and private Brazilian schools, must include content that helps improve student abilities and competencies relative to personal finances and the use of money, whether in a personal sphere or within the family.

Map of research sources on Financial Education in Brazil

This chapter is aimed at presenting Brazilian production about financial education and related themes. It is divided into two parts: the first is in reference to the academic efforts; the second refers to content production on social media and in books available for free.

Financial education, the BNCCand the curriculum: contexts and challenges in Brazilian public schools

Financial education has gradually been extending its reach, upported through the efforts of the Brazilian government and organized civil society, in the face of the social and economic challenges besetting the world. Like any educational process, financial education requires planning, engagement and mobilization, even considering that the results do not necessarily have a short- or medium-term effect. Considering the trajectory of financial education in Brazil, this text aims to discuss it within an educational context and describe its trajectory up to incorporation into the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), highlighting its recognition in this important and most current curricular document in Brazilian education.

Financial education:why do we need it?

For the longest time, roughly from the 16th century, with the establishment of capitalism around the world, people have been working towards ways of ensuring their survival by accumulating assets and money. Capitalism is a system predominated by private ownership and the constant quest for profit and the accumulation of wealth. Despite being conceived as an economic system model, it influences political, social, cultural, ethical and many other spheres, encompassing our affecting our entire nation. With the onset of globalization over the past 50 years, the capitalist system has become the predominant system throughout the world and effects all beings in one way or another. In an effort to generate wealth, many factors influence decisions made within the world of finances, and ignorance of the theme is no longer an option. Financial education is an important discipline in providing citizens the opportunity to exercise their rights and duties within the financial world, allowing for more accurate decision-making. Financial citizenship entails an individual’s ability to make the right choices, exercising their rights and fulfilling the associated duties. It is a concept taken from the term citizenship.

The participation of the private sector and the importance of multi-sector alliances for the development of the ENEF

The National Strategy for Financial Education, created in 2010 through Federal Decree 7,397/2010 and renewed by Federal Decree 10,393, was developed as a multi-sector mobilization initiative with the goal of promoting financial education actions in Brazil. As a multi-sector strategy, a governance committee was created, including the participation of both public and private sector representatives. The participation of the private sector in the development of the ENEF occurs through an array of actions, such as the construction of proprietary education projects and participation at the National Financial Education Week, as well as support for education projects organized by civil society organizations. However, it also arose through a more direct need, along two main lines. The first initiated in 2012 with the constitution of AEF-Brasil (Association of Financial Education in Brazil, a Civil Society Organization of Public Interest – or OSCIP in the Portuguese acronym used – created to develop and scale projects involving financial education and developed according to the premises of the ENEF, namely: free access to beneficiaries and no form of product or service recommendation. The second was direct sponsorship of projects developed by AEF-Brasil. From 2012 to 2020, a series of strategies and projects were implemented by AEF-Brasil, each in partnership with and funded by major companies, international entities and investor funds. The projects are detailed in Chapter 2 of this book, highlighting the diversity of publics and the initiatives developed by AEF-Brasil.