What financial dilemmas reveal about students’ social and mathematical understandings

Everyday financial dilemmas require us to draw on social, interdisciplinary, and mathematical understandings simultaneously and in synergy if we are to make informed financial decisions. Financial literacy is enjoying an elevated status across the Australian Curriculum. This paper reviews some of the literature on financial literacy, and describes aspects of a research project in which Year 6 students were presented with financial dilemmas to gain insights into their social and mathematical understandings and financial decision making. The findings suggest that teaching that provides meaningful contexts in which mathematical concepts are situated is critical to student learning.