Changemakers in Financial Education

The challenge

Financial life is complex. Young people deserve a modern financial education that keeps pace with the opportunities and risks they’ll face — from understanding cryptocurrencies to knowing where to seek help if they’re in financial trouble.

Financial literacy already features strongly in the Australian Curriculum and there are some excellent resources available to teachers. It’s not an added extra, it’s integrated content in mathematics, humanities and digital technologies.

But one crucial piece of the puzzle has been missing: professional learning that supports teachers to learn and grow as financial educators.

The Changemakers in Financial Education initiative — a partnership between Deakin University and the South Australian Department for Education — was created to address this need.

Project overview

This project centres on the design, delivery and evaluation of the Changemakers in Financial Education course.

This course has been designed to develop teachers’ knowledge and confidence to:

• Navigate the scope of the Australian Curriculum v9.0 for teaching about finance.
• Design and adapt lessons that explore real-world financial problems.
• Tailor learning for students from diverse financial realities.

So far, the course has supported 80 teachers across more than 60 South Australian public schools, strengthening young people’s access to meaningful, curriculum-aligned financial education.

Course outcomes

Surveys and interviews produced high-quality insights into the project’s reach, impact and outcomes.

We found that the course generated a marked increase in knowledge and confidence to teach about finance.

This course is offered through Deakin University’s Professional Learning Education Hub.