Independent evaluation of ASIC’s implementation of the Helping Our Kids Understand Finances initiative

In May 2013, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) commissioned the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to conduct an independent evaluation of its implementation of the Helping Our Kids Understand Finances (HOKUF) initiative. The purpose was to conduct an independent evidence-based assessment of whether ASIC implemented the HOKUF initiative in a way that met the following key criteria: 1) Appropriate – the extent to which the program developed by ASIC was useful and ‘fit for purpose’ in supporting the delivery of the consumer and financial literacy content aligned to the Australian Curriculum. 2) Effective − the extent to which the implementation of the program contributed to increasing the level of confidence and capacity of classroom teachers to integrate consumer and financial literacy education into their teaching practice. 3) Efficient − the extent to which ASIC delivered on the Australian Government’s commitment to improve consumer and financial literacy in Australian schools under the HOKUF initiative. This was determined through ACER’s cost–benefit analysis. The findings in this report are based on both qualitative and quantitative data collected over the course of the initiative. Data collection methods included surveys of teachers participating in the trial MoneySmart schools, interviews with Project Officers and National Partnership Project Agreement (NPPA) and Commonwealth Own Purpose Expenses (COPE) reports.