FINANCIAL EDUCATION AT SCHOOL: FORMATION OF AUTONOMOUS AND RESPONSIBLE ATTITUDES
Financial Education. High School. Autonomous attitudes. Public school. Educational product.
The research explores the understanding of students in the final years of High School about Financial Education and investigates how the school can mobilize concepts, skills and attitudes that enable autonomous and more responsible financial choices in life in society. It starts from the observation that limited knowledge about Financial Education has a significant negative impact on the Brazilian economy, contributing to high rates of default and economic difficulties. With this, the research question is constructed, expressed by: How do students in the final years of High School understand Financial Education and how can the school mobilize concepts, skills and attitudes so that they make autonomous and responsible financial choices in life in society? To explore the research problem, four steps were carried out: (1) bibliographic review and study of theoretical contributions on Financial Education; (2) exploratory research on the knowledge of Financial Education considered essential by high school students; (3) construction and validation of an educational product, considering the exploratory research carried out with the students; and (4) preparation of an article with the research data, presenting the results obtained. As a methodological support, the research is inscribed as qualitative and descriptive, with the use of action research. The materiality produced in the exploratory research derives from an online questionnaire, built in Google Forms, which characterized the students participating in the research, mapped their prior knowledge and possible learning desires in Financial Education. The research project was submitted to the Research Ethics Committee (CEP) of the researched institution, obtaining the necessary authorization for its implementation. After approval, the research was presented to students in the final years of high school at a public school in the South region, who were invited to participate. As an ethical procedure, the Informed Consent Form (ICF) for parents and the Informed Assent Form (AICF) for students under 18 years of age were signed, and the ICF for adults, in the case of students over 18 years of age, was signed. With the appropriate authorizations, the questionnaire was sent to the students via institutional email, in the form of a blind list. The research material produced was described, organized and analyzed considering the theories indicated in this investigation. With the research, we hope to understand how Financial Education has been inserted and how it can be experienced in Basic Education schools in a more robust way, which presupposes deeper concepts and experiences in the area. To this end, we seek to develop and validate an educational product that can be used by high school students for a better understanding and deepening of the topic.