On March 27, the Deputy Premier and Education Minister Gordon Wyant announced that writing for new financial literacy courses is set to begin in April, and will soon be available to help ensure students in Saskatchewan are prepared for a successful future.
“The ability to manage personal finances is an essential skill in our daily lives,” Wyant said in a press release. “We want our students to be prepared for their futures, and that’s why it’s so important to engage students in financial literacy.”
The financial literacy courses should be ready for piloting in the 2018-19 school year with full implementation as early as September 2019.
The new financial literacy curriculum is being developed for Grade 11 and 12 students, however, Grade 7 – 9 teachers will also be able to introduce their students to financial literacy topics using the modules in the middle-level practical and applied arts courses.
“Financial literacy is critical for personal and business success and as such, the Saskatchewan Chamber has long been advocating for specific classes on this subject,” Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce CEO Steve McLellan said in a press release. “Therefore we very much applaud the work of the Ministry of Education and this announcement today. We believe Saskatchewan will soon be graduating a much more financially literate young person which is a very positive move for our economy, our students and our communities overall.”
The curricula is written by teachers and consultants who apply and are selected by the Ministry of Education in consultation with the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation.
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The development and implementation of the curriculum is approximately a two-year process. During this time, the writing team consults with industry-experts to incorporate industry standard learnings.
“Our members, the province’s 28 school boards, have adopted recent resolutions in support of developing a personal finance class for high school students and of implementing a provincial strategy to address financial literacy for all students,” Saskatchewan School Boards Association president Dr. Shawn Davidson said in a press release. “Increased focus on financial literacy has also been a theme commonly identified by students in scholarship essays we have received and student panels we have hosted in recent years.”
During the 2016 -17 school year, Legislative Secretary Lisa Lambert met with education sector stakeholders throughout the province to obtain feedback regarding curriculum renewal, which resulted in the ministry of education restarting the curriculum renewal processes for a number of areas.
A practical and applied arts reference committee was formed in efforts to provide direction and later recommended that financial literacy courses be developed.
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