Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Education (Ph.D)

Department

Education Specialties

First Advisor

Roger Bloom

Second Advisor

Bonnie Johnson

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact that an experiential financial literacy workshop has on first-grade students’ comprehension of financial concepts. Financial literacy is a lifelong skill. It is essential for children to establish and maintain the financial literacy skills necessary to be successful in money matters throughout their lives; yet many young children are not being taught financial concepts (Center for Financial Security, 2016). In addition, a person’s financial attitudes are shaped in childhood (Drever et al., 2015). Currently, elementary schools throughout the United States are not consistently creating age-appropriate financial literacy curricula for children (Collins & Odders-White, 2015). Many children are not introduced to financial concepts and skills at home, and this can have a negative impact on their future financial well-being (Center for Financial Security, 2016). This explanatory sequential mixed methods research study determined that first-grade students acquired and applied financial concepts while engaging in an experiential financial literacy workshop and that they gained a better understanding of age-appropriate foundational financial literacy concepts. The sample population is a first-grade class consisting of nine students, in a private elementary school located in New York. Constructivism and sociocultural theory are the theoretical frameworks that guided all aspects of this study. These frameworks allowed the researcher to closely examine how first-grade students acquire and apply financial literacy concepts while engaging and participating in an experiential financial literacy workshop. The results of this explanatory sequential mixed methods research study indicate that it is inherently important to include financial literacy in the early elementary grades, K-2. This study helped fill the gap in the literature by identifying the outcomes and benefits of introducing an experiential financial literacy workshop in first grade. Investigating the outcomes of financial literacy in the first grade addressed the shortcomings of current studies.

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