The course on Economic and Financial Education, “The City of Opportunities”, for teachers of secondary education has been yielding successful outcomes. This is confirmed by a study carried out by Pamela Jervis, academic at the MIPP Millennium Institute, and Mauricio Salas, thesis student of the Master of Applied Economics, University of Chile. The research found a change in attitudes and financial practices of the respondents.
The aim of the evaluation of this course was to measure its impact on the following three areas of study: financial knowledge, attitudes, and practices (CAP). From this, the researchers explored the behavior and financial decisions in a context of a global economic and health crisis (due to COVID-19).
The course “The City of Opportunities” was created and taught jointly by the Central Bank of Chile and the MIPP Millennium Institute, and hosted at the Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Chile. The purpose of the initiative is to enable high school teachers and pedagogy students to incorporate and disseminate economic knowledge to their students.
Who took the course ?: characterization
The sample of people who took the course is diverse. For example, the predominant educational level of the participants is university level or they already have a bachelor’s degree. This group represents 67.94% of the course participants.
Most of them are teachers, representing 91.36% of those attending the course. Of those, 43.90% work in a subsidized private institution, 31.09% in municipal and 14.91% in private establishments. The educators consulted in the survey teach at high school (65.75%), secondary school (15.75%) and professional technical (7.14%) levels.
With respect to the question on the financial instruments used by the participants, their ease of access is confirmed, with 82.26% of those surveyed reporting ownership of a cuenta vista (day-to-day basic account), 65.36% of a checking account, and 85.98% have at least one bank card of their own.
Savings and credit use: outcomes of the course
One of the most visible effects on the participants of this course is the savings initiative. After taking the course, the percentage of participants with savings goals increased from 84.36% at the beginning, to 91.13% of the sample after the course completion. The reasons highlighted by the researchers are housing purchases (investment in real estate) and for emergencies. Other important purposes include the use of savings for education and to cover future expenses.
Another positive result is observed on debt or credit. Before taking the course, 64.34% of the participants reported having outstanding debt or credit. After the course, the participants who had accumulated debt decreased to 50.97%. However, the only debt instrument that increased was mortgage credit. This is related to investment in real estate.
More precisely, and in relation to this topic, 90% of those polled reported, after completing the course, that they invest in real estate. For the researchers, this can happen because, as a result of the course, the participants realized that they had been investing in real estate but had no prior knowledge that it qualified as such. This is related to the increase of 17.60% in the probability of having a mortgage credit debt among the respondents who completed the course.
New call for enrollment
The call for applications for the fourth edition of the Economic and Financial Education course, “The City of Opportunities” is already open on the website: coursoadistancia.cl. The course is designed for high school teachers and pedagogy students. Enrollment space is limited, therefore, those who receive acceptance and access codes will participate. This course is 100% free and takes place online, between the months of August and December 2021.
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