Editors' Notes

It started a few years ago with a Request for Proposals from the National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®). We responded to the call for proposals, because, in addition to the topic of financial literacy education, it focused on a significant area of interest: that of community-based adult education. Success in community-based adult education always involves attention to sociocultural factors; one cannot work successfully with communities unless one considers attention to power relations between dominant and marginalized groups. In considering financial literacy in particular, it is also important to explore how capitalism and economic systems and social relations affect how educators deal with issues of financial literacy, and how adult learners respond to educational programs that attempt to meet their needs. While learning more about financial literacy in the process of doing a literature review for the proposal and then, later, as we developed the survey and interview questions, we found that there was little overlapping empirical research or conceptual work in the two fields of adult education and financial literacy education. We also discovered that the influence of life circumstances is rarely addressed in the financial education literature. We knew from our work in adult education that it isn't possible to learn and educate in isolation from life circumstances. Based on the work of Myles Horton and Paulo Freire (1990) and bell hooks (1994, 2003), who argue that no education is politically neutral, we know that it is extremely important to consider the influence of the educators’ and learners’ background, life circumstances, and the overall sociocultural context in both teaching and learning. Interaction with educators and learners in the process of working on the NEFE® project indicated a need for more attention to and awareness of sociocultural factors and influences in the field of financial literacy education. The process of our work on the project led us to look into all of the ways adults learn about financial matters. We looked into TV shows, self-help books, and financial counseling, considering why people attend the classes and what motivates them to do so. We also considered why financial educators do what they do and what goals they have for their students. It also led one editor to decide to focus on sociocultural influences in financial education for her dissertation research (Sprow, 2010). The findings of our collaborative NEFE® research project (Tisdell, Taylor, & Sprow, 2010) revealed, among other things, that the financial educators in our community-based survey and interviews take the cultural background of their adult students into account when teaching. The interviews, in particular, showed us that the beliefs of the educator and the students about money are important for the effectiveness of teaching and learning, as are the influences of the sociocultural context (Tisdell, Taylor, & Sprow Forté, 2013). The case study (Sprow, 2010) of a financial education program further confirmed the importance of considering sociocultural factors as well as the steps the program administrators take to encourage behavior change. As we progressed through the four years of work on this topic, we have seen an increase in the number of studies looking into sociocultural issues as they relate to money and finances, about financial behavior change, and assessing learning in financial education classes, all of which are explored in this volume. However, we have not seen the same increase in interest in adult education circles for financial education. Many adults attend financial education classes across the country; hence, it has become a common site for adult learning, deserving greater attention by the field of adult education. Thus, in this volume we bring together scholars from both the fields of adult education and financial literacy, to explore financial education in a sociocultural context. This volume includes chapters on topics that show the interrelatedness of the two fields of education—adult education and financial literacy education—and highlights how the concepts and knowledge about adult education can be utilized and illuminate some of what is happening in financial education. The first four chapters specifically address the many factors that affect learning, including sociocultural issues, financial exclusion, gender, and other contextual influences. The fifth chapter looks at financial education from a critical perspective, and then the sixth discusses the influence of culturally diverse communities and financial education. The seventh chapter addresses workplace financial education, followed by a chapter on assessment of learning. The final chapter presents recommendations for financial educators. We are hopeful that this volume will also bring more attention to financial education as a potential place to explore how adults learn and make meaning from their financial life experiences. Karin Sprow Forté is the English as a Second Language (ESL) Project Director at Penn State University–Harrisburg. Edward W. Taylor is a professor of adult education at Penn State University–Harrisburg. Elizabeth J. Tisdell is a professor of adult education and the coordinator of Graduate Programs in Adult Education at Penn State University–Harrisburg.