The use of private loans to finance college education has significantly increased in the last decade. Insufficient public financial aid support, a complex federal aid application process, aggressive marketing by private lenders, and an unwillingness by some parents to borrow under the federal PLUS program are leading students to take out what can…

With public pensions under pressure and private pensions exposed to risk, individuals face an increasing variety of financial risks, particularly those linked to their retirement. This book analyzes the level of risk awareness of consumers and highlights good practices governments might initiate to enhance consumers' awareness and education on…

One of the core competencies in the IFT education standards for students is to achieve competency in communications skills (that is, oral and written communication, listening, interviewing, and so on). According to the IFT guidelines, by the time students graduate, they should not only be able to search for and condense information but also be…

Marketing and advertising support the U.S. economy by promoting the sale of goods and services to consumers, both adults and children. Sandra Calvert addresses product marketing to children and shows that although marketers have targeted children for decades, two recent trends have increased their interest in child consumers. First, both the…

This commentary recommends that financial counseling and planning research, education, and practice be framed as an interdisciplinary profession called personal finance. Authors summarize the history of the profession and key theories providing the conceptual foundation. In order for the emerging profession of personal finance to achieve…

Darren Crovitz explains that the explosive growth of Web-based content and communication in recent years compels us to teach students how to examine the "rhetorical nature and ethical dimensions of the online world." He demonstrates successful approaches to accomplish this goal through his analysis of the selling techniques of two Web sites…

The near-collapse of the American financial system has led to a search for its causes and ways to prevent it from happening again. Many political leaders blame at least some of the sub-prime mortgage crisis on mistakes caused by financially "illiterate" consumers and propose to solve that problem with mandatory classes in personal finance.…

Higher education administrators know it is more cost-effective to keep students than to recruit them. Understanding financial literacy--and how it impacts student retention and persistence on the campuses--is an important concept for administrators to comprehend. Most students are not financially literate when they enter the world of higher…

As part of the accountability movement, schools are increasingly called upon to provide interventions that are based on sound scientific research and that provide measurable outcomes for children. Brain Gym[R] is a popular commercial program claiming that adherence to its regimen will result in more efficient learning in an almost miraculous…

To help practitioners integrate skills into the teaching of core academic subjects, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills has developed a unified, collective vision for learning known as the Framework for 21st Century Learning. This Framework describes the skills, knowledge and expertise students must master to succeed in work and life; it is a…

The author proposes an alternative to the traditional definition of the gains from international trade and, hence, an alternative defense of free trade. Rather than showing that free trade allows a country to consume more of all final goods, the author's approach shows that free trade allows a country to consume the same basket of final goods that…

The Family Economics and Financial Education Project (FEFE) began in 2001 at Montana State University with an annual grant from Take Charge America, Inc., a credit counseling and debt management company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. FEFE's mission is to provide educators with curriculum materials and training to be effective teachers of…

Junior high school teacher Mary Rice designs a consumer research unit that cultivates students' critical reading and thinking skills. As students learn how to develop and revise criteria for evaluating the reliability of online information, they read customer reviews, research products, and present their findings orally.

A national survey of secondary family and consumer sciences (FCS) education programs focusing on the 2002-2003 academic year showed that 5,517,976 students were enrolled in FCS classes taught by 37,500 teachers. Three states responding to the survey reported having a state requirement for a specific FCS course, and many states reported that local…

A study conducted by "Money" Magazine in August 2006 found that students are not as financially literate as they ought to be. Teachers are now being challenged to find alternative strategies to educate students in the ways of personal finance. One component of personal finance that is particularly challenging is investments. In this article, the…