Topic: Financial Literacy
Target Population: Adolescents, Middle Childhood, Parents
Sector: School-Based
This program is for students in kindergarten through 12th grade and their parents.
Financial Fitness for Life® (FFFL), a school-based program, is designed to teach students how to make informed decisions related to personal finance.
No peer-reviewed publications implementing the entire curriculum and evaluating the effectiveness of this program were located.
The FFFL program consists of a comprehensive curriculum that includes developmentally suitable lessons for children and youth in kindergarten (K) through 12th grade. This program is available in four versions (i.e., Grades K to 2, Grades 3 to 5, Grades 6 to 8, and Grades 9 to 12), and each version incorporates separate sets of materials that are based on national standards for economics, personal finance, mathematics (K-8) and language arts (K-5). All versions of the program emphasize active learning strategies designed to help participants gain and expand their decision-making skills in reference to personal finance. Each version of the program focuses on the following general themes:
In addition to classroom lessons, parent guides are available for grades K to 5 and 6 to 12 to encourage learning and reinforce concepts at home.
The FFFL program has been implemented in schools across the United States for more than a decade.
Training is optional and available online or in person. Trainings on a variety of topics related to personal finance are available through the Council for Economic Education. For more information, please visit www.councilforeconed.org/resources/type/professional-development/
Considerations for implementing this program include finding time to administer the program in an already existing curriculum, acquiring buy-in from school districts, and understanding program materials will need to be purchased.
The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
If you are interested in implementing FFFL, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
The FFFL curriculum includes between 15 and 22 individual sessions depending on the grade level of participant. Individual lessons range from 45-minute sessions to week-long projects.
Please visit https://www.econedlink.org/resources/ or use details in the Contact section for information on the cost of program materials.
To move FFFL to the Promising category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, at least one evaluation should be performed demonstrating positive effects lasting at least one year from the beginning of the program or at least six months from program completion.
The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu
Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu
You may also contact the Council for Economic Education by mail 122 East 42nd Street, Suite 2600, New York, NY 10168, phone 1-800-338-1192, or visit http://councilforeconed.org/general-information/contact/
Gill, A., & Bhattacharya, R. (2015). Integration of a financial literacy curriculum in a high school economics class: Implications of varying the input mix from an experiment. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 49(2), 472-487. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12048
Harter, C. L., & John F R Harter. (2009). Assessing the effectiveness of Financial Fitness For Life in Eastern Kentucky. The Kentucky Journal of Economics and Business, 28(1), 20.
Smith, R. C., Sharp, E. H., & Campbell, R. (2011). Evaluation of financial fitness for life program and future outlook in the Mississippi Delta. Journal of Economics and Economic Education Research, 12(2), 25-39.
Swinton, J. R., DeBerry, T. W., Scafidi, B., & Woodard, H.C. (2007). The impact of financial education workshops for teachers and students’ economic achievement. The Journal of Consumer Education, 24, 63-77.
