LITERATURE SEARCH AND REVIEW OF RESEARCH ON CONSUMER EDUCATION

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) Consumer Advisory Panel has decided to commission the Centre for Popular Education to undertake research to assist ASIC in developing and implementing consumer education initiatives.

To this end, ASIC has engaged the Consultant to perform the following work:

Project tasks

The Consultant shall provide ASIC with a report that:

1. Surveys existing research on consumer education issues, including published and unpublished material.
2. Reviews the existing research to isolate the messages and lessons that may be relevant for the development and implementation of ASIC's consumer education strategy, including lessons about the factors that make an education initiative effective and any best practice guidelines.
3. Identifies whether there is a need for ASIC to conduct or commission any further research on consumer education issues, and if so, what that research should cover.

The Consultant shall also provide ASIC with the source material collected during the consultancy.

Scope of the material to be surveyed

The material surveyed should be consistent with the following guidelines:

Geographic scope

The detailed survey of published and unpublished materials should focus on both Australian and relevant international research (where this can be easily found). It is expected, however, that the primary focus will be Australian material.

Currency

In general, the research should focus on material that has been prepared within the last ten years. However, there is scope to include any key studies from earlier years to the extent that the results remain valid.

Economy-wide

The project is not limited to examining research on consumer education issues in the financial services sector. In fact, it is expected that we can also learn from research conducted on consumer and community education issues in other sectors of the economy (eg health).

Authors

The consultant should consider a wide range of possible authors, for example, government agencies (both Commonwealth and State/Territory), community and consumer organisations, industry associations, academics, research, marketing and education companies, and others. It is expected that it may be more difficult to get access to research that has been commissioned by individual companies for in-house use. However, where such research is available for a fee, the details of the research, and the fee should be recorded.

Research topics

The project should seek out research on a wide range of consumer education issues and communication strategies, including, but not limited to:

• format and delivery;
• methods of distribution;
• timing;
• targeting;
• education for disadvantaged consumers;
• providing education to people from non-English speaking backgrounds;
• providing education to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities;
• coordination of consumer education initiatives;
• partnerships on consumer education;
• testing and evaluation; and
• consumer education through the media.

The research is not limited to research on "pure" consumer education initiatives. It could also include other campaigns and strategies designed to positively influence consumer behaviour , including in non-financial sectors.

A particular focus of the project should be collect and assess any research or analysis of the effectiveness of particular initiatives.

Type of research

The survey should consider all types of research including research published in relevant journal articles, working documents, internal evaluations, and other formats, as well as stand-alone reports and papers.

RESEARCH AND COURSE DEVELOPMENT FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY PARENT EDUCATION

Taking a whole family approach and drawing on a popular education principles are key features of an innovative financial literacy pilot program that commenced among low income communities in the Australian in 2004.

The Finance First a joint initiative of YWCA NSW and the Citigroup Foundation based in Sydney funded the research and development of two parts - one for parents and the other for children attending primary school (Years 1 to 6 in NSW). The YWCA in NSW provides a broad range of community programs and services for women, families and young people and includes advocacy and social justice campaigns for a more just and equitable society as part of it work.

The EvenStart financial literacy parent education program was researched and developed by a team from the Centre for Popular Education at UTS and piloted in three school community locations. While the MakingCents children’s program was developed by a curriculum team from the NSW Department of Education and Training and piloted in a number of government schools in NSW.

Both parts were developed separately but designed to be offered together to both parents and children in school communities in low income areas across NSW. Attached is the Proposal and the Summary Research Paper

For further information please contact cpe@uts.edu.au