The financial literacy of Austrian young people is above average compared to that of 15-year-olds in other OECD countries. This is evident from the results of the ‘Financial Literacy’ test part of the PISA 2022 study published on Thursday. There is still a lot of catching up to do.
Austria took part in this part of the international comparative study for the first time. This time, a total of twenty countries took part, including eleven EU countries.
The aim of the research is to determine whether young people have the necessary knowledge and skills to make responsible financial decisions. In seven out of twenty countries, young people scored higher in financial literacy than the OECD average of 498 points.
Belgium at the top
The best results were achieved by Belgium (Flemish Community, 527), Denmark (521), Canada (eight provinces, 519) and the Netherlands (517). Behind them are the 15-year-olds of Austria with 506 points (6th place), who statistically performed as well as their peers in the Czech Republic, Poland and the USA.
A similar number of young people to the average in the other countries performed particularly well or particularly poorly in the survey: 13 percent achieved top results in financial literacy in Austria (OECD average: 11). This group can describe the consequences of financial decisions and analyze financial products.
17 percent have very little knowledge (OECD average: 18) and can only make simple decisions about their daily expenses, but cannot weigh the price-performance ratio or understand the link between the level of consumption and the costs incurred. The size roughly corresponds to the share of particularly weak students in the PISA German or mathematics test.
Family influences
Family background also has a particularly strong influence on financial literacy in Austria: the achievement gap between students with wealthy, highly educated parents and socio-economically disadvantaged young people is around 100 points. This is significantly higher than the OECD average (87).
At 63 points, a migration background in Austria results in an achievement gap that is twice as large as the average in the comparison countries; the achievement gap for students with a different mother tongue is the largest of all countries surveyed at 72 points. Much of this can be attributed to social differences.
The differences between the sexes are relatively small: boys achieved an average of 8 points more than girls, and they also achieved top results more often (16 versus eleven percent). On average across countries, boys scored five points higher, while girls performed even better in eight of the twenty countries involved.
Dealing with money as a school subject
In the accompanying questionnaire, six out of ten of the approximately 1,600 test participants from Austria indicate that they learned how to handle money at school. Two-thirds indicate that lessons included analyzing advertising, discussing the difference between spending on needs or wants, or planning expenses.
When asked about sixteen financial terms, local youth knew the meaning of eight. Only in the Netherlands were there more, namely nine. Terms such as wages, budget, diversification and dividends had to be explained.
The performance difference must become smaller
Despite the above-average results, Minister of Education Martin Polaschek (ÖVP) has “clearly identified the potential for improvement in selected areas”. Therefore, the new curricula will pay special attention to economics and financial education, which should also be an interdisciplinary topic in the lessons.
When it comes to ten to fourteen-year-olds, more needs to be done for underperforming young people, Doris Wagner, head of the department of general education and vocational training, emphasized during a background interview. Especially for students whose parents have little education or money, the aim is to lay a good foundation for their financial knowledge by deepening the basic concepts.
NEOS want fair opportunities
NEOS and the Industrial Association (IV) also demand more attention for socially disadvantaged groups. The next government must pay special attention to fair opportunities for all children and young people, demanded education spokeswoman Martina Künsberg Sarre. It should also integrate business and financial education and entrepreneurship more strongly into lessons and train teachers accordingly.
For the IV, economic and financial education must be “urgently strengthened” as part of primary education, Secretary General Christoph Neumayer called for. The Stock Forum, which represents the interests of domestic listed companies, called for an overhaul of teaching materials and better training opportunities for teachers. We know from studies that young people are very interested in the subject. Politics is lagging behind here.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
