Multiple Thinking Model in Financial Literacy Education: Finding Tao in Making Kinds of People

• In Event: Certainty Amid Uncertainty in the Future: Making Kinds of People

Abstract

Objectives
Financial literacy has assumed greater importance in our society (​​Mandell, 2006). Financial education is important to inquire into what kind of citizens we are creating(Arthur, 2012​​). Noddings (2003) proposes that we hope that children will learn to derive some happiness from doing the right thing. In this sense, we expect financial literacy education (FLE) to bring us happiness or guide us the way to happiness and make up people (Hacking, 1986) who derive happiness from understanding and executing "the right thing" that people's financial behavior needs to be right and financial literacy education also need to teach people to do “the right thing” in personal finance. Therefore, this article explores what kind of “the right thing” fosters in financial literacy education and the meaning to education reform.
Perspectives
This kind of “the right thing” resonates with the "Tao" of oriental philosophy. Tao is originally expounded in the ancient Chinese scripts the Tao Tê Ching (Wu, 1963). According to Heidegger, "Tao could be the way that gives all ways, the very source of our power to think what reason, meaning logos, properly mean to say—properly, by their proper nature" and “the key word in Laotse’s poetic thinking indicates the way that gives all ways”(Chang, 2013). Heidegger says that “thinking is not a means to gain knowledge and thinking cuts furrows into the soil of Being” (Heidegger, 1971). In this sense, we can use these traces of financial knowledge to restore what kind of people financial literacy education expects to cultivate.

Data and Methods
This article attempts to use a new way of "Tao" thinking to rethink the truth of “the right thing" that education creates people by analyzing financial literacy education. This study attempts to construct multiple thinking models by text analysis and grounded theory by analyzing the Wisconsin Financial Literacy Education Curriculum Standards (K2-K12) as this traces of financial knowledge. This standard contains six parts: financial mindset, education and employment, money management, saving and investing, credit and debt, risk management and insurance. The financial thinking are analyzed in a total of 44 blocks, K2-K12 to explore Tao in financial education through grounded theory and textual analysis of each half-sentence of each of the six modules of the curriculum standard.
Findings and Scholarly Significance
Financial literacy education is to create people who have creative multiple thoughts to do “the right thing” in financial thinking and improve their morality through thinking about reflect "to conscience" - a method of flowing self-inquiry of morality - to meet Tao’s pursuing of the truth of being- which Taoist philosophers lead. This paper uses the perspective of "Tao" to demonstrate "the right thing" in financial behavior and financial literacy education, puts forward 12 ways of the multiple thinking modes in financial literacy education, which reflect the people that financial literacy education seeks to cultivate.

Author

• Jiarui Bai, East China Normal University
  Presenting Author