Transcript Slide 1

Building Financial Self-Efficacy with
Social Work Students:
Helping Themselves, Helping Others
Christine Callahan, PhD, LCSW-C
Carolyn Tice, PhD
Sally A. Hageman, MSW
Council on Social Work Education, 60th Annual Program Meeting (Oct. 23-26, 2014).
Part 1 of Learning Objectives:
• Discuss:
–Financial self-efficacy
–The differences between financial
knowledge, financial capability, and
financial self-efficacy
–Financial social work—term coined by
Reeta Wolfsohn of the Center for
Financial Social Work
Umbrella Definition of Financial
Capability
• Financial capability refers to the degree of
knowledge, skills, behaviors, available
resources, and attitudes that a person
possesses and can access in her/her
community in order to make the wisest
choices possible regarding personal finances
(Birkenmaier, 2013; Sherraden, M.S., 2010)
Margaret Sherraden’s definition of
financial capability…
• “Financial capability…combines a person’s ability
to act with their opportunity to act….To be
financially capable, people must be more than
financially literate; they must also have access to
financial products and services that allow them to
act in their best financial interest. Together,
ability and opportunity contribute to a person’s
financial functioning in ways that lead to
improved financial well-being and life chances.”
(p. 3 from Financial Capability and Asset
Development, 2013)
Definitions (continued)
• Financial stability: promotion of improved
financial well-being in individuals, families,
and communities
• Financial literacy: skills and knowledge
involved in understanding financial concepts
and terms in order to make sound decisions
(Despard & Chowa, 2010; Huston, 2010)
Definitions (continued)
• Financial self-efficacy: behaviors and
motivations that one has in order to translate
knowledge into meaningful change, even
when change is difficult and problems seems
insurmountable (Postmus et al., 2013)
Part 2 of Learning Objectives:
• Discuss
–premise behind work-shops
–structure of the work-shops
–funding source to support the workshops
–relationship of work-shops to social
work practice, policy and research
Premise Behind Work-Shops
• College students:
1) struggle with sound financially decisionmaking (Lusardi, Mitchell & Curto, 2009)
2) may be newly financially independent from
their parents
3) are impacted by a struggling economy
4) will often work with people who need
assistance with income eligibility and
entitlements (Hawkins & Kim, 2011)
Structure of the Work-Shops
• Work-shops are an educational intervention to
help students learn about financial issues and
to develop their sense of financial selfefficacy.
• The educational intervention consists of six
work-shops and seminars on financial
capability and financial self-efficacy.
Structure of the Work-Shops (continued)
The work-shops include elements on:
• the integration of financial capability and selfefficacy with social work practice
• how to support clients experiencing financial
hardship
• applying social work theory and concepts to
practice
Structure of the Work-Shops (continued)
• examining ethical and social justice issues and
implications
• assessing financial well-being
• awareness of relevant social welfare policies
e.g., unemployment, health insurance,
minimum wage
Funding Source to Support
the Work-Shops
• The work-shops integrate with and build upon
the work of the Financial Literacy Working
Group on the University of Maryland,
Baltimore County (UMBC) campus.
• The project also connects with the University
of Maryland School of Social Work, Baltimore
and its Financial Social Work Initiative (FSWI).
Funding Source to Support
the Work-Shops (continued)
UMBC has established The Hrabowski Fund for Innovation to
permanently endow the initiatives launched with support from a
Carnegie grant.
The Hrabowski Fund ion enables the President’s Office to invest in:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
course design and redesign
development of unique classroom learning environments that
support active learning, team-based learning, and entrepreneurial
skill development
lab- and project-based capstone courses
faculty fellowships
peer-learning initiatives
Research Component
• Study approved by the IRBs at UMBC
(coordinating IRB) and UMB
• Research question generally revolves around
whether or not students’ sense of financial
self-efficacy improves as a result of exposure
to work-shops and these topics, info, different
practice settings, understanding clients’ needs
better
• Pre- and post-test; focus group at end
Relationship of Work-Shops to Social Work
Practice, Policy and Research
• Apply social work ethical principles to guide
professional practice (EPAS 2.1.2)
• Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate
professional judgments (EPAS 2.1.3)
• Advance human rights and social economic justice
(EPAS 2.1.5)
• Engage in research informed practice and practiceinformed research (EPAS 2.1.6)
Relationship of Work-Shops to Social
Work Practice, Policy and Research
• Apply knowledge of human behavior in the social
environment (EPAS 2.1.7)
• Engage in policy practice to advance social and
economic well-being and to deliver effective social
work services (EPAS 2.1.8)
• Engage, assess, intervene, and evaluate with
individuals, families, groups, organizations and
communities (EPAS 2.1.10 (a)-(d))
Part 3 of Learning Objectives:
• Discuss:
–measures and surveys on evaluating
financial knowledge
–link macro and micro issues related to
financial stability and financial
capability in education and practice
Measures/Surveys to assess financial
knowledge
• The Financial Self-Efficacy Scale (FSES):
– developed to assess behavioral components of
managing finances and to help educators and
counselors better understand their students’ and
clients’ psychological reasons behind financial
management.
– survey was validated in a sample of 726 university
employees; alpha reliability = .76
– Lower scores indicate better financial self-efficacy
(Lown, 2011).
Measures/Surveys to assess financial
knowledge
• Financial Knowledge, Behavior, and Self-efficacy
Scale:
– 5,329 male and female high school students attended a
financial planning course by the National Endowment for
Financial Education (NEFE) High School Financial Planning
Program (HSFPP).
– questions about how money was acquired, saved, spent,
and communicated within the family system were asked
– knowledge and self-efficacy questions were asked to
evaluate earlier stages of the learning process (Danes &
Haberman, 2007)
Financial Self-Efficacy Scale (FSES)
(Lown, 2011)
Exactly
true
It is hard to stick to my spending
plan when unexpected expenses
arise
It is challenging to make progress
toward my financial goals
When unexpected expenses occur I
usually have to use credit
When faced with a financial
challenge, I have a hard time
figuring out a solution
I lack confidence in my ability to
manage my finances
I worry about running out of money
in retirement
Moderately
true
Hardly
true
Not at all
true
Financial Knowledge, Behavior, and
Self-efficacy Scale (Danes & Haberman, 2007)
Financial Knowledge
Strongly
disagree
I understand the cost of
buying on credit
I know key questions to ask
when shopping for auto
insurance
I know about investments
(stocks, mutual funds,
bonds, etc.)
I know the difference
between needs and wants
Somewhat
disagree
Neutral
Somewhat
agree
Strongly
Agree
Financial Knowledge, Behavior, and
Self-efficacy Scale (cont.)
Financial Self-Efficacy
Strongly
disagree
Somewhat
disagree
Neutral
Somewhat
agree
Strongly Agree
Almost
never
Not often
Neither
sometimes
Almost always
I believe the way I manage
my money will affect my
future
I feel confident about
making decisions that deal
with money
Financial Knowledge, Behavior, and Selfefficacy Scale (cont.)
Financial Behavior
Financial Behavior
I track my expenses
I compare prices when I shop
I set aside money for future
needs/wants
I use a budget
I repay the money I owe on time
I make goals for managing my
money
I achieve my money
management goals
I discuss money management
with my family
Almost Not
never often
Neither
sometimes
Almost
always
Financial stability and financial
capability in education and practice
• Micro
– Social workers may serve financially vulnerable
populations and should be educated on how to
address financial concerns that may come up with
clients (such as budgeting, credit, debt, etc.)
• Macro
– Welfare policies, state and federal laws on
vulnerable consumer protections, auto and health
insurance policies
Questions?
References
• Birkenmaier, J., Kennedy, T., Kunz, J., Sander, R., & Horwitz, S. (2013). The
role of social work in financial capability: Shaping curricular approaches. In
J. Birkenmaier, M. Sherraden, & J. Curley (Eds.), Financial capability and
asset development: research, education, policy, and practice (pp. 278301). New York, NY: Oxford University Press
• Danes, S. M. & Haberman, H.R. (2007). Teen financial knowledge, selfefficacy, and behavior: A gendered view. Journal of Financial Counseling
and Planning,18(2), 48-60.
• Despard, M. & Chowa, G. A. N. (2010). Social workers’ interest in building
individuals’ financial capabilities. Journal of Financial Therapy, 1, 23-41.
• Hawkins, R.L., & Kim, E.J. (2001). The socio-economic empowerment
assessment: Addressing poverty and economic distress in clients. Clinical
Social Work Journal, 40. doi: 10.1007/s10615-011-0335-4.
• Huston, S. (2010). Measuring financial literacy. Journal of Consumer
Affairs, 44(2), 296-316.
References
• Lusardi, A., Mitchell, O., & Curto, V. (2009). Financial literacy among the
young: Evidence and Implications for consumer policy (Working Paper
series 15352). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
• Lown, J. (2011). 2011 outstanding AFCPER conference paper: Development
and validation of a financial self-efficacy scale. Journal of Financial
Counseling and Planning, 22(2), 54-63.
• Postmus, J., Plummer, S.B., McMahon, S., & Zurlo, K. (2013). Financial
literacy: Building economic empowerment with survivors of violence.
Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 34(3), 275-284. doi:
10.1007/s10834-012-9330-3
• Sherraden, M. (2010). Financial capability: What is it, and how can it be
created? (CSD Working Paper 10-17). St. Louis, MO: Washington
University, Center for Social Development.
Contact information
• Christine Callahan, PhD, LCSW-C
– [email protected]
• Carolyn Tice, PhD
– [email protected]
• Sally A. Hageman, MSW
– [email protected]