The Role of Parental Education in Financial Socialization of Children

• In Event: Financial Literacy: Something That Everyone Should Know

Abstract

Drawing on Annette Lareau’s conceptual framework of concerted cultivation versus accomplishment of natural growth this qualitative study examines the impact of parental practices on children’s exposure to financial topics and offers an insight into how parents socialize their children on financial matters. Lareau’s model suggests that middle- and upper-class families tend to provide more opportunities for their children to socialize with institutions than working class families, thus, better preparing children to navigate, interact, and thrive in diverse social systems as adults. The study’s findings suggest that the mothers’ education level plays a role in socialization of children, but a more complicated relationship exists between parents’ educational attainment and financial socialization practices.
Keywords: financial socialization, financial behavior, social inequality, parenting

Authors

• Nadzeya Kardash, The University of Kansas

• Lauren Coleman-Tempel, University of Kansas

• Meghan Ecker-Lyster, University of Kansas