Brazil puts financial education on curriculum hoping for economic gain

October 15 is Teachers’ Day in Brazil. However, there is little to celebrate, with public school educators having to put up with horrible classroom conditions (which sometimes include violence) and the worst entry-level salaries in the world. However, as experts warn, valuing professors will be crucial for the success of a new policy that could have a deep (and positive) impact on the Brazilian economy: the introduction of financial education classes at schools.

Starting next year, all Brazilian schools will be required to include financial education in their curriculum, according to new guidelines established by the Education Ministry. The National Standard Curriculum (BNCC) aims to standardize a basic course program in an attempt to diminish inequality in learning opportunities by guaranteeing every student may develop a basic set of capabilities. 

For the first time in Brazil, financial education has been included as an object of study for elementary and high school students. Though guidelines have included the topic as a subject related to mathematics, the BNCC also states it should be approached in an interdisciplinary fashion. 

“It would be possible to develop projects in history classes on the study of money and its role in society, the connection between money and time, taxes in many societies, consumption at historic moments, including current marketing strategies,” states the document. “Besides promoting the development of students’ personal and social skills, these matters may become an excellent context to apply...