International Practices to Promote Budget Literacy: Key Findings and Lessons Learned

"Budget literacy is defined as 'the ability to read, decipher, and understand public budgets to enable and enhance meaningful citizen participation in the budget process.' Budget literacy consists of two main parts: (1) a technical understanding of public budgets, including familiarity with government spending, tax rates, and public debt; and (2) the ability to engage in the budget process, comprising practical knowledge on day-to-day issues, as well as an elementary understanding of the economic, social, and political implications of budget policies, the stakeholders involved, and when and how to provide inputs during the annual budget cycle."

This Governance Global Practice (World Bank) document elaborates on approaches, learning outcomes, pedagogical strategies, and assessment approaches from its review of budget literacy education; and it presents lessons learned from 35 case studies of budget literacy initiatives in 34 countries. The study was prepared under the Russia Budget Literacy Project, funded by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and implemented by the World Bank.

"Building capacity for small- or large-scale efforts to promote budget literacy education requires collaboration with relevant stakeholders, such as teachers, parents, school administrators, policy makers, and civil society organizations. It is also imperative to explore various means of providing ongoing support to educators, including the development of online and printed learning materials such as lesson plans, activity books, and interactive games; the implementation of training programs for teachers; and the establishment of an online or in-person network of support and guidance on budget-literacy instruction for teachers by their peers."

The study reviewed educational policies, standards, and curricula through online research, gathered inputs from 200 individuals and 150 organisations, documented 35 cases, and synthesised key findings.

Lessons learned include the following:

• Setting Strategic Objectives -
• Chart Clear Objectives for Imparting Budget Literacy Education
• Emphasize Links between Budget Literacy and Public-Service Delivery

• Incorporating Budget Literacy Education into School Curricula -
• Use Existing Subject Curricula as Entry Points to Teach Budget Literacy
• Adopt a Gradual, Tiered Approach to Educating Students about Public Budgets, Beginning in Primary School
• Continue to Rely on a Tiered Approach to Budget-Literacy Education during Secondary School 
• Emphasize Civic Competence and Technical Knowledge to Capture the True
• Essence of Budget Literacy 
• Use Budget-Literacy Content to Convey Interesting Facts, Initiate Stimulating Discussions, and Pose Real-Life Challenges to Students

• Developing Diverse Methods and Materials for Teaching and Assessing Budget Literacy -
• Use Instruction Methods That Make Learning about Public Budgets Relevant and Compelling for Students
• To the Extent Possible, Arrange for Students to Receive Feedback on Their Contributions to the Budget Process
• Provide Learning Opportunities That Will Improve Confidence
• Adopt Assessment Approaches That Can Keep Pace with the Diversity of Materials and Pedagogical Approaches Being Used to Teach Budget Literacy 
• Develop Pedagogical Materials That Can Accommodate Varying Levels of Budget-Literacy Knowledge Among Educators  

• Building Capacity to Promote Budget Literacy Education - 
• Design Assessment Methods That Are Exclusive to Budget-Literacy Education
• Collaborate with Relevant Stakeholders in the Design and Implementation of Measures for Strengthening Budget Literacy
• Explore Various Means of Providing Ongoing Support to Educators 

Appendices provide case studies from various countries and include both school based and "beyond-school" models as well as pedagogical resources for both primary and secondary schools.