New Zealand’s approach to financial education for Māori highlighted at OECD event

Erin Thompson, director of Māori development for Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission.

New Zealand’s approach to financial education for Māori has been shared on the international stage.

Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission was invited to join a panel, virtually, to share insights on its Te whai hua – kia ora, Sorted in Schools programme at the annual conference of the OECD/CVM Centre on Financial Education and Literacy in Latin America and the Caribbean last week.

Director of Māori development for Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission, Erin Thompson, joined representatives from Canada, Brazil and Peru to discuss how financial literacy tailored to the needs of indigenous peoples can promote their financial wellbeing.

Te whai hua – kia ora, Sorted in Schools programme was recognised for its approach, which puts Māori indigenous knowledge at the centre, recognising the importance of teaching students about money in a manner which reflects their local knowledge and world view.

“One of the benefits of the Te whai hua – kia ora approach is that students, teachers and whānau can see themselves in the programme, with financial skills and concepts linking to their existing knowledge,” Thomson said.

“Te whai hua – kia ora is designed for schools, but because of its holistic nature, it is very much a programme that can reach beyond the school gates and into the homes of whanau and the wider community.”

Teaching financial education in schools gives young people the opportunity to learn financial capability basics from the start – concepts such as the importance of savings and impact of compound interest and advantages of avoiding bad debt can set students and their families up for success.

In New Zealand, students are taught financial education in high school and kura through Te whai hua – kia ora, Sorted in Schools, which is in 81 per cent of kura. The programme focuses on 13 to 18-year-olds and provides NZQA-approved resources that students use to gain NCEA credits, while also learning important financial life skills.

Te whai hua – kia ora, which is taught in kura (Māori medium education), found that the by Māori for Māori approach is the strength of the programme, as it interweaves te ao Māori narratives and knowledge into learning, making financial concepts relevant and easy to implement.

Thompson reflects on research into the programme which has found “when financial knowledge and confidence grows, students move from understanding wants and needs, to developing budgets, to planning for university and home ownership. The shift of some of these students and their whānau has been phenomenal.”

Embedding mātauranga Māori [Māori knowledge systems] is central to the design of Te whai hua – kia ora and how financial education is taught.

Many international organisations now use a similar approach to support indigenous financial wellbeing. Tailoring financial education to individual communities and their needs is reflected in the work that international organisations such the CVM Centre on Financial Education and Literacy do.

The OECD and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil (CVM) are made up of 51 public authorities including central banks and ministries of finance, social policy and education. The regional network focuses on financial education, including financial inclusion and consumer protection.