Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine the impact of teacher-as-learner professional development on personal finance on knowledge and skills for financial decision making.
- This study uses an interrupted time series analysis to evaluate the impact of professional development on personal finance capabilities. The data sources included confidential surveys given immediately post treatment and again 6-months post treatment. The authors used statistical models to compare outcomes.
- The study found the intervention to be significantly related to positive financial planning and money management behaviors.
- This study receives a low evidence rating. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to teacher-as-learner professional development on personal finance; other factors are likely to have contributed.
Intervention Examined
Teacher-as-learner Professional Development on Personal Finance
Features of the Intervention
Teacher-as-learner professional development has emerged as a teacher-centered approach to adult education that generates new knowledge for teachers and promotes problem solving in their personal or professional capacities. Teachers in five states had the opportunity to attend a 3-day, 18-hour course on personal finance, wealth building, financial products, fraud, credit, and debt. Classes were produced by academics, financial planners, insurance agents, and others. Each day followed a learning plan with learning objectives, success factors, prework, and reflection.
Features of the Study
The study used an interrupted time series design to evaluate the impact of professional development on teachers’ personal finance capabilities. The study was conducted in three states: Colorado, Vermont, and South Carolina. Teachers recruited in the study were given the opportunity to attend professional development on personal finance. The authors collected survey data on teacher financial behaviors and attitudes using a retrospective survey that was administered immediately following the professional development and a survey that was administered six months after the professional development. The authors used paper surveys in Colorado and online surveys in Vermont and South Carolina. Of the 215 teachers who participated in the professional development, 163 teachers provided both pre- and post-survey data. The majority of the sample were female (77%) and worked with high school students (65%). Half of the participants were between the ages of 31 and 45. Most participants had a master’s degree (68%) but had never taken a personal finance course. The authors used statistical tests to compare the outcomes of participants before and after they participated in the professional development.
Findings
Knowledge and skills for financial decision making
- The study found that participation in the professional development was significantly associated with positive retirement planning behaviors, such as contributing to a retirement account and taking steps to reach retirement goals.
Knowledge and skills for money management
- The study found that participation in the professional development was significantly associated with keeping a budget and improved credit and debt management. No other significant relationships were found.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The authors compared the outcomes of participants measured before and after they participated in the professional development. However, there was only one observation prior to the intervention, and it was measured retrospectively. For these types of designs, the authors must observe outcomes for multiple periods before the intervention to rule out the possibility that participants had increasing or decreasing trends in the outcomes examined before enrollment in the program. That is, if participants who had increasing financial literacy and knowledge tended to enroll in the program, we would anticipate further increases over time, even if they did not participate in the program. Without knowing the trends before program enrollment, we cannot rule this out. Therefore, the study receives a low causal evidence rating.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this study is low because the authors did not account for trends in outcomes before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Teacher-as-Learner Professional Development on Personal Finance intervention; other factors are likely to have contributed.