1. "Learning for school or for real life"
26th of March 2009
Taina Mäntylä, Senior Adviser Finnish Consumer Agency (Finland)

2. WHAT CONSUMING MEANS? central role in life skills of everday life
building own identity
means of influencing in society/market
Being a consumer is a central role in everbody’s life. During a day we make dozens of choices as a consumer. Adequate practical skills is one aspect of consumer education. But consuming is also a significant way of building one’s own identity, which is largely used for in advertising and other commercial persuasion. Becoming aware of these mechanisms and creating the basis on which children can build their own, independent and responsible attitudes towards commercial impact is another aspect of consumer education.

3. CHALLENGES AS A CHILD
identification of advertising and other commercial persuasion
own needs versus advertisers needs 
social pressures, need to belong to some group
where does money come from? 
the art of making choices
Considering all this, important questions to be handled in consumer education are:
- identification of advertising and other commercial persuasion
- one’s own needs versus advertisers needs
- social pressures, everybody’s need to belong to some group
- where does money come from?
- the art of making choices

4. Traditional Nordic co-operation: objectives and content of CE
Personal finances
The right and obligations of the consumer
Commercial persuasion
Consumption, environment and ethics
Food
Safety
“Consumer Education in the Nordic Countries” has since 1995 been widely used in the Nordic countries.

5. The Phelan, Davidson and Yu (1993) –model

6. The Consumer Abilities and the Themes of CE

7. The new objectives and contents of CE
The ability to evaluate the short- and long-term impacts of individual consumption and daily choices and contribute to sustainable development
The ability to evaluate the personal choices and use of technology and media as well as the ability to act with sufficient criticism and responsibility in the media and technology environment, which is saturated with new innovations.
The ability to awareness of one's own rights and responsibilities as a consumer, and the ability to learn to assess the safety and quality of different products and services and utilize useful information such as various warnings
The ability to obtain and use information in economic life, use resources economically, manage personal finances and act in an entrepreneurial fashion
The ability to participate in one's own media environment as a critical and responsible consumer and to cope with the commercial persuasion, to which each individual is exposed;
The ability to manage the home and participate in an ethical and rational way in everyday life.

8. CONSUMER EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS
not a separate part of the curriculum but is mentioned in the syllabus as a theme
The syllabus is presently being revised and themes will be replaced by wholes which can include a consumer perspective if desired.
Ultimately it is up to individual teachers
In Finland consumer education is not a separate part of the curriculum but is mentioned in the syllabus as a theme which should be taken into consideration in other subjects. The syllabus is presently being revised and themes will be replaced by wholes which can include a consumer perspective if desired.
Ultimately it is up to individual teachers to decide what consumer matters they wish to emphasize in subjects such as social studies, for example. In practice we know that the quantity and quality of consumer education varies from school to school.
Consumer education is considered important, however. In order for it to be taught comprehensively, teachers should have a better overall picture of the objectives and content of consumer education.

9. METHODS FOR CONSUMER EDUCATION
problem-based case-related exercises,
dialogy, simulation and play
role playing and modern and classical literature
The same goes for the use of ICT (information and communication technology) in consumer education. Many useful consumer facts can be found on the internet, and activities that invite the students to explore available material on the internet, should be included in teaching
Teaching material:
The teaching methods used in consumer education should involve the pupils and have their
basis in their every-day life and their interests. Dialogue, role-playing, simulations and play
are important. Project work provides opportunity to handle pupil-related conditions.
Practical and very concrete tasks heighten the pupils´ ability to understand the usefulness
of consumer education. Pupils should be made part of the planning as well as the
evaluation of the activities. Teaching aids should be easily accessible for pupils and up to
date. To show the results of classroom activities in special exhibitions is a way of making
parents and the entire school part of the experience.
To use modern information technology (ICT) is becoming a matter of course in school
today.