BUILDING FOR TOMORROW TODAY: THE IMPORTANCE OF INCORPORATING BASIC ECONOMICS AND FINANCIAL LITERACY IN SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM ON THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL TO CREATE INTEREST IN CONTENT AREA AND SCHOOL ATTENDANCE ATTITUDES WILL THE INTRODUCTION OF BASIC ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES CREATE INTRINSIC INTEREST IN SOCIAL STUDIES AND OVERALL SCHOOL ENTHUSIASM? JOEL SCOTT CBSE 7202T.NET PROFESSOR DR. SHARON O’CONNOR PETRUSO 12/12/13

Table of Contents  Abstract…..Slide 3  Statement of the Problem……………………………..Slide 4  Review of Literature……………..Slide 5  Hypothesis…………….Slide 6  Methods:……………………………….Slide 7  Research Design…………………..Slide 8  Internal & External Threats to Validity…………………………..….Slide 9  Pre & Post Survey Questions……………………….Slide 10  Data Analysis & Results………………………………..…….Slide  Discussion/ Implications……………………………………Slide 13  References………………………………………………………Slide 14

Abstract Despite social studies including the geography, history, government, and sociology of specific groups and cultures there has not been any defined curriculum incorporating economics and financial literacy to standard social studies content. This action research examines how economics and financial literacy can generate increased positive attitudes towards studying social studies, the perceived value of money, and overall enthusiasm for school attendance. In a one group pretest- posttest design 25 African American children were given pre and post survey inquiring about their attitudes towards money, learning, social studies, and school. The hypothetical culturally relevant treatment provided to the students between surveys detailed basic economic principles, described how money has shaped authoritative decisions in the past, and the beginnings of how to be a financially literate adult. These treatments were administered 2 times a week over a period of 4 weeks. The results showed a significant rise in attitude towards learning about money, economics, and social studies. However, overall school interest remained constant. Results indicate a positive correlation between culturally relevant economic and financial literacy content and increased interest in learning social studies.

Problem “Everyone needs to remember. Everything revolves around the global economy! – Prof. Dr. Sharon O’Connor Petruso  If everything revolves around the global economy how come we aren’t teaching any economics or financial literacy until late high school, or the undergraduate level, if at all? How is it that we teach geography, history, government and sociology under the social studies curriculum umbrella but not economics? Teachers and the Common Core are supposed to be preparing students to compete on the global job market yet provide no financial literacy to use.  Social studies instruction is in need of an overhaul. Due to high stakes testing and detailed teacher accountability social studies is not being taught as often and students are not interested in learning the content. Students need lessons that are relevant to their everyday lives and environments. Children of color, especially African Americans, have to be more engaged in the classrooms and teachers have to develop instruction that creates intrinsic interest.

Review of Literature  Curriculum design is increasingly becoming more standardized and reflects a uniform system of content and instruction. High stakes testing, teacher accountability, and student progress are now under the microscope and the themes of what is wrong and right with education. Less instruction and classroom time is being devoted to social studies. Student interest is waning. (Heafner & Fitchett, 2012)  Comprehensive strategies for educating children and youth to be effective managers of money and successful navigators of a complex financial marketplace have not yet emerged from the dialogue and debate. (McCormick, 2009)  Students that are given multicultural curriculum not only evolve academically but are more self- aware, knowledgeable and exhibit greater overall competency. (Cates & Schaefle, 2009)  Presidents Advisory Council on Financial Capability (2/19/13) ◦First major recommendation is to focus on youth: ◦Integrate important aspects of finance into teaching of math and ELA Common Core State Standards for K-12 education.

Hypothesis By implementing culturally relevant lessons about basic economic principles and financial literacy 2 times a week for a period of 4 weeks students will be more interested in learning social studies and attending school.

Methods: Participants, Instruments, & Procedure Participants: 25 5 th grade African American students not randomly chosen. Pre Test Survey: Teacher gave a study to determine student attitudes towards social studies, economics, money, and school. Pre Test: Teacher evaluates student knowledge of social studies, economics, and the role of money and financial literacy in their communities and the world. Post Test: Teacher evaluates student post treatment knowledge of social studies, economics, and the role of money and financial literacy in their communities and the world. Post Test Survey: Teacher gave a study to evaluate if student attitudes towards social studies, economics, money, and school have changed.

Research Design  Research Design: Pre-Experimental Design  One Group: One designated treatment group  No Control Group  Random assignment is not used. Individuals are all African American students in the 5 th grade.  One Group Pretest-Posttest Design:  Single group (O) is pretested, given treatment (X) and post tested after treatment (O).  Symbolic Design: OXO  Designs consists of 25 students.  Research will be conducted for 4 weeks.

Internal & External Validity Threats INTERNAL History – Students might have preconceived notions about money, history, and how the world functions. They may have already made judgments about money and its function. Differential Selection of Subjects – Students are picked at random with varying degrees of intelligence. Economics, social studies, and finance might prove to be difficult for some to grasp. Selection-Maturation Interaction – Some of the students may have not matured enough to understand the real world complexity of the content. EXTERNAL Pre Test Treatment – Students might answer the pre test questions according to what they believe the experimenter’s expectations are. Specificity of Variables – If the variables, independent and dependent, are not specific and detailed there can be a threat to the interpretation and analysis of results. Experimenter Effects – As the experimenter and firm believer that economics should be instituted into K-6 curriculum I have to be aware of my own personal bias. I’m also a fan of culturally relevant content, another bias.

Pre & Post Treatment Question Examples: Likert scale used 4- STRONGLY AGREE, 3-AGREE, 2-DISAGREE, 1-STRONGLY DISAGREE  Social studies interests me.  Social studies relates to the world around me.  Social studies helps me better learn about the world.  I enjoy studying history and social studies on my own.  Social studies will make me a more successful adult.  I enjoy coming to school to learn.

“Social Studies Interests Me.” Students were asked about how much interest they had in learning social studies. The results from the post survey questions provided clear evidence of the effectiveness of the culturally relevant treatment. The pretest survey mean for this question was 2.2. Post treatment results detailed a mean increase to With a very strong positive direction and significant correlation of.827(rxy) students responded to the question with an increased overall interest in learning social studies.

“Social Studies Will Help Me Be a Successful Adult” Students were asked if they thought learning social studies would make them more successful adults. After analyzing the data it can be seen again that the treatment was effective in creating a more encouraging attitude towards learning social studies. The pre survey mean for this question was 2.36 but almost increased a whole point to With a strong positive direction and a significant correlation of.724 (rxy) there is a direct relationship to the treatment given and student attitudes towards the value of learning social studies in school.

Discussions & Implications  Based on the results of this action research and the information provided by the literature review one can safely conclude that culturally relevant lessons about even a seemingly difficult topic such as economics and financial literacy can be effective in the classroom and increase interest in learning social studies.  Student interest in social studies increased but overall attitude towards going to school did not. This part of the hypothesis was proven to be incorrect. There is a variety of reasons for this lack of change in school enthusiasm. Despite the treatment being effective we have to take into account that there are other factors that determine a child’s willingness and positive anticipation to go to school.  This action research was successful in changing attitudes. However, it needs to be implemented, tracked, and reinforced on a regular basis (year, bi yearly) to see if educating children and adolescents will translate to better financial decision making and financial literacy in adulthood. There are socioeconomic factors that might dictate what decisions participants ultimately make but to have more information and experience to draw from it would be interesting to see if this introduction to economics, money, and financial literacy would play a role in future financial assessments and outcomes. Another aspect of this study that could lead to further research is the establishment of partnerships to further engage and immerse students in the world of economics and financial literacy.

References  O’Connor-Petruso, S. (2012). Descriptive Statistics Threats to Validity [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from  Cates, J. T., & Schaefle, S. E. (2009). Infusing Multicultural Training into Practicum. The journal of counseling research and practice, 1(1),  Heafner, T. L., & Fitchett, P. G. (2012). National Trends in Elementary Instruction: Exploring the Role of Social Studies Curricula. The Social Studies, 103,  McCormick, M. H. (2009). The Effectiveness of Youth Financial Education: A Review of the Literature. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 20(1),