Abstract:

Financial literacy means that primary and middle school students can think like financial experts and adapt to the comprehensive qualities of future financial life. High quality financial curriculums play an important role in systematically cultivating primary and secondary school students’ financial literacy. A unified system structure is formed within the financial curriculum of American primary and secondary schools. The curriculum objectives highlight the simultaneous improvement of financial knowledge and decision making ability. The curriculum content is integrated and advanced in six categories. The curriculum implementation is carried out in a project based, penetrating and open ended manner. The curriculum evaluation is based on decision making for multiple evaluations. In addition, an effective guarantee mechanism is formed outside the curriculum. The legal system is used to ensure the core position of the curriculum, family education is used to give children the first experience of learning the curriculum, the in depth participation of social institutions provides intellectual support for the construction of the curriculum, and the professional teachers for the implementation of the curriculum are guaranteed by integrated training. According to this, the successful experience of internal and external two pronged approach has reference value for the construction of China’s finance and economics curriculum. China should approve its own positioning, improve its characteristic curriculum system, focus on the meaning of the theme, highlight the future concept of literacy, mobilize resources from all parties, and coordinate a systematic guarantee mechanism.

Key words: financial literacy, the United States, primary and secondary schools, financial curriculum