The Future of Education

Research indicates a growing focus on enhancing financial literacy awareness globally, yet current efforts are in early stages [1]. Existing attempts to integrate financial education into curricula lack a holistic approach, emphasizing "money and transactions" over crucial topics like "planning and managing financial situations," "risk and reward," and "financial outlook." [2] OECD and the European Commission have repeatedly emphasized the importance of financial literacy skills among youth and the need to integrate these skills in school curricula. This includes the publishing of two core competence frameworks to assist schools in the application of financial literacy in their teaching. [3,4] This paper focuses on the findings and outcomes of “Financial Literacy for the Economic Development of Society” project funded by the EU´s Cooperation partnerships in school education action (KA220-SCH) and led by Varna Free University in Bulgaria. Through the contributions of 7 organizations from Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, Ireland and Turkey, the project has developed financial literacy initiatives among secondary school students, acknowledging the critical role this plays in navigating the complexities of the modern financial landscape. Recognizing the need for regulatory measures to address these gaps, our project is developing a comprehensive secondary school financial literacy curriculum. The curriculum, and its associated content, will be digitized and accessible through a dedicated portal. This allows students and teachers to engage in virtual financial transactions, practice calculations, and manage finances in a simulated environment. The innovation lies in how it applies the given frameworks in practice by seamlessly integrating high-quality learning content and a highly accessible online learning interface for a more impactful financial literacy program of benefit to students.