How Confident Are Personal Finance Teachers? A Survey of High School Instructors in the United States

Abstract

Nonprofit organizations and regional universities have increasingly offered professional development opportunities for potential personal finance teachers as states and school districts have increasingly required high school students to take personal finance courses. Yet, current measures on teacher confidence and dispositions shadow these updates. This article employs unique data on high school teachers to estimate their confidence levels, professional development take-up, and attitudes about teaching personal finance courses in schools. The results show that 95% of teachers are confident in teaching personal finance. Teachers with licensure outside of business or economics were more likely to take up professional development in personal finance instruction. Meanwhile, 86% of teachers support a graduation requirement for personal finance instruction in high school. These findings suggest that high schools have the capacity to teach personal finance but also underscore the need for low-cost, easily accessible professional development opportunities.