<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Operating in today’s markets is challenging due to information overload and an expanding choice of products. Children also encounter these complex markets at an early age. Providing consumer education in schools is an excellent opportunity to enhance their ability to think critically and increase their awareness. However, it would be a mistake to ignore the interconnections between consumer education and entrepreneurship education, since active and innovative people are also a prerequisite for future development. Taking advantage of the opportunity to provide consumer education in schools requires teachers to be familiar with consumer issues. This article aims to discuss the perceptions and experiences that primary school teachers in Finland have regarding children’s consumer education in schools. This study was conducted using the phenomenographic qualitative method to analyse data from teacher interviews. The analysis revealed a set of categories that describes the various ways the participants perceive and experience children’s consumer education in schools. These categories include themes, actors, teaching methods and the challenges and expectations teachers relate to children’s consumer education. The findings of this study are worth exploring when planning how to support teachers’ consumer educational competences for a sustainable future. The authors consider that this article is especially valuable for curriculum planners, educators, consumer organisations and parents’ associations, because it shed light on teachers’ perspectives about consumer education.</p></abstract>

Operating in today’s markets is challenging due to information overload and an expanding choice of products. Children also encounter these complex markets at an early age. Providing consumer education in schools is an excellent opportunity to enhance their ability to think critically and increase their awareness. However, it would be a mistake to ignore the interconnections between consumer education and entrepreneurship education, since active and innovative people are also a prerequisite for future development. Taking advantage of the opportunity to provide consumer education in schools requires teachers to be familiar with consumer issues. This article aims to discuss the perceptions and experiences that primary school teachers in Finland have regarding children’s consumer education in schools. This study was conducted using the phenomenographic qualitative method to analyse data from teacher interviews. The analysis revealed a set of categories that describes the various ways the participants perceive and experience children’s consumer education in schools. These categories include themes, actors, teaching methods and the challenges and expectations teachers relate to children’s consumer education. The findings of this study are worth exploring when planning how to support teachers’ consumer educational competences for a sustainable future. The authors consider that this article is especially valuable for curriculum planners, educators, consumer organisations and parents’ associations, because it shed light on teachers’ perspectives about consumer education.

Teachers’ Perceptions of Consumer Education in Primary Schools in Finland

Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"Teachers\u2019 Perceptions of Consumer Education in Primary Schools in Finland"}

Operating in today’s markets is challenging due to information overload and an expanding choice of products. Children also encounter these complex markets at...

Teachers’ Perceptions of Consumer Education in Primary Schools in Finland

Published Online: Dec 31, 2019

Page range: 72 - 88

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/dcse-2019-0019

Keywords
education for sustainable development, consumer education, entrepreneurship education, financial literacy

© 2019 Kati Pajari et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Teachers’ Perceptions of Consumer Education in Primary Schools in Finland

Published Online: Dec 31, 2019

Page range: 72 - 88

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/dcse-2019-0019

Keywordseducation for sustainable development, consumer education, entrepreneurship education, financial literacy

© 2019 Kati Pajari et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
education for sustainable development, consumer education, entrepreneurship education, financial literacy