Tag Archives: CfE

Building Financial Resilience: Is it our responsibility?

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In a recent Mathematics and Science input, we were very fortunate to be visited by guest lecturer Brenda Rochead who works for the Scottish Financial Education Group. The input focused on how we can raise financially capable children in a society rife with poverty and undesirable financial situations through education starting in the early years. Her input, along with a related workshop, really challenged my views on financial education and children’s capacity to learn about finances and I wanted to record my new ideas within this post.

Personally I would say I handle my finances reasonably well. I have a part-time job while I study at University to fund living costs, I treat myself occasionally and socialise regularly and I try to save money when I am able to do so, however I do wonder how my financial status and attitude would differ had I been taught about money when I was at school. The 5-14 curriculum that I was taught under, did incorporate what I would now refer to as, “money education”. I was able to identify a variety of coins and notes; I could count the correct coins to pay for items; I was able to calculate change however if you asked me to read a bank statement or describe credit, even as a young adult, I’d find it incredibly challenging. Prior to the input with Brenda, my teaching strategies regarding financial education would have reflected similar approaches used while I was at primary school – for example, manipulating coins during role-play in a shop scenario and calculating the appropriate change. However following the input this attitude was completely changed. Although this is an essential skill, I believe we are limiting our pupils to this and almost creating a ‘purchasing ethos’ where money only concerns buying. Instead I believe we should be building financial resilience within our pupils introducing them to real life scenarios, developing life skills and preparing them for their unpredictable financial future.

So how do we build financial resilience within our youngest pupils? As highlighted by Brenda during the input, we should be addressing skills, knowledge, attitude, motivation and opportunities. By skills I refer to financial literacy – the understanding of how money works in the world: how we are able to make or earn money; how we manage money and how we can turn this into more through investment. With this in mind we should be teaching our pupils how to read bank statements to develop an awareness of spending and saving; discuss employment and develop entrepreneurial skills; introduce skills such as taking money out of an ATM machine and the necessary safety precautions or how to use online banking etc. The additional knowledge children should acquire through financial education includes, but is not limited to, the dangers in the financial world such as debts and online safety and where you are able to receive help should you find yourself in an undesirable situation. Furthermore we should be promoting a ‘need vs. want’ attitude when it comes to spending money and encouraging pupils to save money for later in life when they will need it most.

In early and first level, Curriculum for Excellence highlights the importance of manipulating money and the word “used” is very apparent within the experiences and outcomes. Without the addition of building financial resilience within the early years, we risk exposing our children to the “purchasing attitude” I mentioned earlier. Within second level, we begin to see the phrases “manage money”, “understand risks”, “budgeting” and “profit”. However I believe we should be exploring these earlier on in schools to encourage pupils to think further than how much it will cost to buy a Freddo after school!

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CfE Experiences and Outcomes – Number, Money and Measure

Raising financially capable pupils is not just apparent within the Numeracy and Mathematics curricular areas. For example, the Health and Wellbeing experiences and outcomes touch on emotional and mental wellbeing which correlates directly with the pressure of finances. However the need for more emphasis of finance within CfE is apparent and Learning and Teaching Scotland released a document in 2010, that highlights the rationale for embedding more structure of this particular subject into the curriculum. “The philosophy and practice underpinning Curriculum for Excellence offers many opportunities for children and young people to experience financial education. Financial education will provide a relevant context to develop knowledgeable, skilful and enterprising children and young people who can take increasing responsibility for their own lives and plan for their future (p9).” By encouraging pupils to think about managing their money, we are creating responsible citizens and effective contributors to society, two of the four capacities highlighted in CfE.

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CfE Experiences and Outcomes – Mental, Emotional, Social and Physical Wellbeing

Within their document, Learning and Teaching Scotland highlight a number of ways children can be involved in financial education. These include having a whole school credit union, running a money week and getting involved in fundraising (See the full document here). However like the CfE experiences and outcomes, I see this as an upper stage activity, where although the early and first level pupils could be involved, the responsibility would primarily fall to those in P6/P7.

So how can our EY pupils get involved in financial education? Play is an important part of EY learning and provides plenty opportunities for children to explore money beyond the traditional British Stirling coin set. Creating a Bureau de Change Role Play area would be a fantastic opportunity for pupils to explore different currencies and learn how to convert money. Alternatively a Travel Agent area would be a perfect opportunity to look at deals when travelling abroad and how to save money for trips on holiday.

Children often observe their parents when they are stood at an ATM machine or talking to accountants in the Bank so they could use this experience and act out these scenarios. Using a box or screen, the children could create an ATM and perform the necessary actions to take money out whilst another pupil counts the correct money. This would also allow for discussion about safety when at the bank or ATM.

Taking your personal receipts for the pupils to explore would be an engaging activity for the pupils – they’d love to see what your bought for your tea on Monday Night and they would be able to observe the format of a receipt and identify offers within the print!

With all this considered, the most important things I gained from Brenda’s input was to think outside the box regarding learning activities and aim to stretch my pupils understanding of money beyond purchasing niceties. As teachers we want to ensure that our pupils are as prepared as they can be for society, so why are we limiting their experiences and their mind-set?

How would you teach your pupils to become financially resilient? What other skills to pupils need to manage their money? What other learning activities would be beneficial to enhance their understanding of how money works? See my financial education pinterest board for some ideas on EY financial education.

References:

Learning and Teaching Scotland (2010) Financial Education: Developing skills for learning, life and work. Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/developing_skills_web_tcm4-639212.pdf [Accessed: 28/01/16]

Scottish Government (2009) Curriculum for Excellence, Experiences and outcomes for all curriculum areas Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/all_experiences_outcomes_tcm4-539562.pdf

 

Let’s Make Space for Outdoor Learning

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Outdoor learning was never a big focus throughout my primary years despite the large field and beautiful Moray Coast on which the school was situated. It was never a topic that was negotiated within our classes and I remember looking out of the window on numerous occasions wishing I was running around in the fresh air near the salty waves rather than stuck in a sweaty, over crowded classroom. Now on reflection I consider the numerous educational experiences that could be gained by exploring the area I grew up in and how important I consider outdoor learning to be.

The topic of outdoor learning has come to my attention recently for a number of reasons. During our second year Education Studies module, we explored the nature of the Swedish education system in which outdoor play is a prominent feature. However having a more significant impact was the knowledge I acquired listening to a recent interview on the radio regarding pupil health and the growth of technology in early years children. For both of these reasons I really wanted to write about the advantages of stepping out of the classroom comfort zone.

The Swedish education system is one of the most talked about in the world and early childhood education and care in Sweden is known to offer exemplar practice. This is due to the combination of pedagogical approaches and unique organization that contribute to its high ranking in the literacy table worldwide. A significant part of Swedish pre-school education is outdoor learning and the pedagogical ideology of Froebel’s Kindergarten. Froebel was a German educationalist and his Kindergarten system grew internationally as an educational model. His kindergarten system consisted of gifts and occupations. The play materials were called gifts and the learning activities were occupations. His system allowed children to compare, test, and explore. His philosophy also consisted of the principles – free self-activity, creativity, social participation, and motor expression. Outdoor activity provides plenty of opportunities for children to explore and develop the values described in the Swedish curriculum document.

I do not believe that CfE emphasizes the opportunities outdoor learning can provide enough, as this is not a regular occurrence in the practice I have observed. However Scottish Government outline the purpose of outdoor learning when they state, “Well-constructed and well-planned outdoor learning helps develop the skills of enquiry, critical thinking and reflection necessary for our children and young people to meet the social, economic and environmental challenges of life in the 21st century. Outdoor learning connects children and young people with the natural world, with our built heritage and our culture and society, and encourages lifelong involvement and activity in Scotland’s outdoors” (Education Scotland, p7)

While outdoor learning is advantageous for our education, it is also important for our children’s health. Over the past few years, research has proven that children are becoming deficient in essential vitamins, especially vitamin D. “Vitamin D is a fat-soluble compound essential for bone growth and mineralisation during childhood. It is produced in the skin following exposure to ultraviolet B light with a small amount occurring naturally in foods such as oily fish, eggs and meat. Without vitamin D the body is unable to effectively process the minerals calcium and phosphorous; essential for bone growth and maturation during childhood” (BBC, 2011). Coincidentally the increase in child technology use has also increased during this period and therefore children are not going outside and exploring like in previous years. Vitamin D deficiency is responsible for bone related illnesses such as rickets, which has also recently increased, and also asthma and depression. Therefore it goes without saying that we should be encouraging our pupils to be out in the fresh air when the weather permits it to prevent these illnesses and promote health and wellbeing.

So how can we make the most out of the outdoors?

Outdoor learning is a useful tool for teachers in many different areas. Firstly, the environment provides many opportunities for cross-curricular links. In my local community (Morayshire) there are a multitude of experiences I could provide my pupils with that would make learning more engaging. Burghead, a small fishing village, 5 minutes away from my own primary school, has a rich historical background of Pictish and Viking eras and was home the Burghead Pictish fort of which the remains are kept in the local visitor centre and the Elgin Museum. Using this environment to explore the history of the Pics would be an engaging activity and could create potential literacy and art activities. The location of the Moray Firth would also offer many opportunities for learning in subjects such as science, exploring the nature and wildlife or the local oil industry, expressive arts, using the picturesque views to spark imagination and also social subjects such as geography and modern studies.

http://hopemanhistory.org/1989-hopeman-from-the-air

Image taken from http://hopemanhistory.org/1989-hopeman-from-the-air

Those who live in towns or cities could use their environment as a means of enhancing literacy in the early years by taking pupils on an “environmental print walk”. Whitehead (2007, p54) argues that the first text children experience as emergent readers is the print that surrounds them in their everyday lives including advertisements, packaging, road signs and symbols, and these are known as ‘environmental print’. Therefore taking pupils on a walk around the streets will provide opportunities to observe print in an engaging way.

Although these are only some of the many ways you can manipulate the outdoors to suit your pupil’s educational needs, I believe it demonstrates the importance of incorporating it into regular practice. With this considered I will aim to utilise the environment as much as possible during my future placements and with my own class to enhance educational experiences and promote health and wellbeing within my classroom.

What opportunities can you identify within your local community that would enhance learning? Are there any other advantages or disadvantages of outdoor learning?

References:

Education Scotland (n.d) Outdoor Learning: Practical Guidance, Ideas and Support for Teachers and Practitioners in Scotland. Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/OutdoorLearningSupport_tcm4-675958.pdf [Accessed 28/11/15]

Hopemanhistory.org (n.d) 1989 – Hopeman from the air – Hopeman History. Available at: http://hopemanhistory.org/1989-hopeman-from-the-air [Accessed 28/11/15]

Reed, J. (2011) Children are at risk of getting rickets, says doctor. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12357382 [Accessed 28/12/15]

Whitehead, M. (2007) Developing Language and Literacy with Young Children. London: Paul Chapman Publishers.

1+ 2 = ?

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Compulsory education in Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) has been high on my list of desired movements within Scottish Education for several years now. So it comes with no surprise that I was overwhelmed with joy when Scottish Government announced the upcoming 1+2 language policy in 2011. The 1+2 policy, proposed to come into place in 2020, aims to broaden children’s horizons and future prospects through the introduction of an additional two MFL, on top of their mother tongue (L1). This will be achieved through the introduction of the first MFL (L2) beginning in primary one and will merge the second language (L3) during the middle and upper stages of primary school.

My exposure to MFL in the primary school was very limited; in fact I left primary school knowing a few basic French greetings and a handful of French songs – which were certainly unrelated to my education! To me, learning a new language, at this stage, was not on my agenda at all. It wasn’t until I went to secondary school where I was exposed to MFL in great depth and it completely changed my views on learning a new language. I was immersed in a new culture, new sounds, new punctuation – new everything! Due to my enthusiasm, learning language became my strength so I sat examinations in Intermediate 2 French and Spanish followed by Higher French. I would have chosen more languages had there not been restrictions on the balance of curricular areas when choosing subjects. This year, as my elective module, I have chosen to learn Italian in order to broaden my language knowledge further and I intend to take part in the MFL elective in third year with the intention of specialising in this field.

But enough about me!

 In this post I hope to analyse, to an extent, the 1+2 approach and how it will be advantageous, and potentially disadvantageous, when it comes into place in 2020.

I believe there will be several positive outcomes from the introduction of the 1+2 policy. Firstly children will develop a love of language learning, so long as it is taught in an engaging and inventive way, and will be able to use this transferable skill later in life. Indeed Education Scotland outlines the aims of the policy and how it applies to the four capacities when they state, “Through learning new languages young people can become successful learners with opportunities relating to working and travelling abroad; confident individuals able to communicate in more than one language; effective contributors to a changing world with an understanding of Scotland’s relationship to other countries; and responsible citizens with an awareness of cultures and languages in addition to their own” (p6).

Although I believe that this new policy has economic reasoning at the centre, to develop a work force that can push Scotland’s global success through use of language, there are cognitive advantages that can arise from language learning in the early years. Children who speak English as an Additional Language (EAL) for example, have developed several skills in advance of monolingual children. A common perception is that the brain has a limited capacity to learn language, hence if a child has, for example, Polish as their first language, their English and Polish language skills will be hindered because of this “limited capacity”. However research has shown that the brain has an unlimited capacity for learning language and that it is easier to pick up a new language earlier in life due to a child’s mental flexibility. The skills that bilingual children have already acquired include “greater awareness of how language operates [which] can help with the development of literacy skills, especially decoding, and with the learning of other languages; enhanced problem solving abilities, which are useful for maths and ICT; heightened creative potential, which may display itself in writing and critical understanding and an awareness of the importance of context and audience in language use” (p4). If these skills are evident within bilingual children I believe it is clear to see the cognitive advantage of introducing our children to language within the Early Years too.

However as I am keen to pursue a career in the Early Years at present, I have reflected upon some of the disadvantages this early language development could incur. In a recent input within the 2CM6 module, where we are discovering some of the pedagogical strategies of teaching Spanish within the primary classroom, our lecturer pointed out a very important point – the phonemes in any MFL will differ from English phonemes hence we should be careful when demonstrating written forms. In English, we have 44 phonemes which children are expected to learn within the first few years of education, in Spanish, for example, only 24 exist but the pronunciation of these phonemes differ greatly. How are we expected to teach the phonemes of English without merging those existing in the chosen MFL too? It may be possible to teach children to speak and listen in a MFL during the first few years of school before introducing reading and writing skills to prevent confusion. However Scottish Government have provided a number of resources for the Early Years which include animated stories with written dialogue hence shows that Government expect us to introduce reading and writing. I believe this needs to be carefully considered before the guidelines for teaching MFL are updated to accommodate the 1+2 scheme.

Another factor that has been heavily criticised, yet it still a valid argument, is the impact this will have on school staff as not all teachers have experience in MFL beyond first and second year of secondary school. This of course is not enough to be confident in presenting a MFL lesson to children in P6 or P7. For this reason I believe compulsory modules in MFL should be introduced in teacher education so our future teachers are equipped with the same amount of knowledge in language development as they have in mathematics or literacy. Luckily on our course we are given the option to develop our language skills through our elective and compulsory languages module.

Although the implementation of the 1+2 policy is still a few years away, I am keen to see how schools move towards integrating this into their curriculum and how Government are able to provide resources and appropriate training to make the most out of the program.

References

Belgutay, J (2011) Young Scots must rise to languages challenge. Available at: https://www.tes.com/article.aspx?storycode=6088675 [Accessed: 15th October 2015]

Education Scotland (no date) Resources – Support materials – Learning and Teaching. Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningandteaching/curriculumareas/languages/modernlanguages/supportmaterials/resources/index.asp [Accessed: 15th October 2015]

Kanaki, A (2015) Speaking and Listening. [Lecture to MA Education Year 2] ED21005 Languages. University of Dundee. 8th October.

Keatch, B (2015) Reading in the Early Years. [Lecture to MA Education Year 2] ED21005 Languages. University of Dundee. 6th October.

Scottish Executive (2005) Learning in 2+ Languages. Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/images/LearningInTwoPlusLanguages_tcm4-306089.pdf [Accessed: 15th October]

Scottish Government (2012) Language Learning in Scotland A 1+2 Approach: Reports and Recommendations. Edinburgh: Scottish Government

University of Surrey (no date) Spanish phonemes and phonetic transcription. Available at: http://www.fahs.surrey.ac.uk/languages/spanish-phonetics/advanced-phonetics-7-2/spanish-phonemes.htm [Accessed: 15th October 2015]