Press releases
Fourth annual “I invite a banker to my class” (J’invite 1 banquier(e) dans ma classe) initiative: a very encouraging independent evaluation
The fourth annual “I invite a banker to my class” initiative, launched on 12 March, raised financial awareness among even more students in 2018 than in previous years. Rolled out by the French Banking Federation (FBF) across the whole of France, the initiative involved more than 560 year 4 and 5 junior classes and will introduce ideas of budgeting to more than 14,000 students between now and the end of June. This means that between its launch in 2015 and 2018, “I invite a banker to my class” will have introduced, in an educational but fun way, just over 24,250 students to the concepts of budgeting.
Drawing on the success of previous years’ events and the results of the independent evaluation carried out by Ansa1, the French Banking Federation (FBF) is once again organising its “I invite a banker to my class”2 initiative for year 4 and 5 junior classes. The event is organised thoughout European Money Week3, which is taking place from 12 to 16 March 2018.
At a time when young people are faced with budgeting issues at an increasingly young age, the initiative aims to raise awareness among them about the basics of secure payments, savings, loans, and so on.
Children aged 8 to 11 take part in a one-hour workshop led by their teacher and based on a game designed by an edutainment specialist. The children are placed in real-life every-day situations where they must make budgetary choices. A guest banker is present to help the teacher and provide explanations if necessary. The bankers take part in accordance with the written agreement of the head teacher and a clearly defined ethical framework, which is naturally strictly non-commercial.
In 2017, in order to assess the efficiency of this measure, the FBF asked independent organisation Ansa to carry out an impact study4. This was the first study of its kind about financial literacy for 8- to 11-year olds and a cross-section of participants were surveyed, including five academies, six schools (two rural and four urban) and eight classes, representing 188 students. Almost 23,000 pieces of data were processed. The main lessons learnt were:
- the programme is of benefit to all students, and especially those with difficulties;
- genuine and immediate progress can be perceived regarding budgetary concepts (41 progress points) and considered behaviour (24 progress points). A fall-off is noted after 10 weeks, suggesting that the initiative would be more beneficial if a more long-term approach was taken;
- students’ maths skills do not appear to have an impact on their ability to learn;
- 58% of students say they have a better understanding of payment methods and 36% are clearer about their parents’ budget;
- 93% of students’ enjoyed the game, including 77% who enjoyed it enormously. All teachers are satisfied.
According to Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, Chief Executive Officer of the FBF: “The FBF has been strongly committed to budgetary and financial education for many years. It is a vital task, aimed at giving each and every person the capacity to be more autonomous and responsible and have more peace of mind regarding their choices and finances. Through this programme, banks give 8- to 11-year olds the first keys to achieving this. We are stepping up the initiative in 2018, with more bankers and more establishments than ever before, providing us with strong motivation to continue our efforts.”
This FBF initiative meets the recommendations of the French national strategy for financial education, introduced in December 2016, which champions financial education from a young age at school, with an impact assessment. For almost 15 years, the French Banking Federation has been developing a financial education scheme strongly approved by the associative sector, called “Les Clés de la banque” (Keys to Banking).
Further information about this event can be found at: unbanquierdansmaclasse.com #1BDansMaClasse
1 Ansa: Agence nouvelle des solidarités actives – a French non-profit organisation working to eradicate poverty and promote inclusion.
2 Over 10,000 year 4 and 5 junior students were sensitized at the previous three initiatives.
3 European Money Week is an initiative led by the European Banking Federation since 2015 (www.europeanmoneyweek.eu).
4 In 2016, “les labos de l’Ansa” (the Ansa labs), organised with the help of experts and players in the field of financial education (Banque de France, French Ministry of Education, etc.), came to a consensus regarding the principle behind and relevance of the measure.
Press release – Fourth annual “I invite a banker to my class” (J'invite 1 banquier(e) dans ma classe) initiative: a very encouraging independent evaluation
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