UK PhD scholarship on personal finance education - applications The School of Social Policy at the University of Birmingham welcomes applications for a funded PhD scholarship on the topic of ... Personal finance education: What is it for?  And how best to do it? Context During the 1980s and 1990s, the financial landscape in the UK, as in many Western states, became increasingly complex with the growth of the credit industry, the mortgage market and electronic forms of money serving as just a few examples.  At the same time, there has been a shift in responsibility and risk for welfare from the state to the individual.  This has all placed much greater onus on individuals to develop financial capability in order to manage their money better and make informed choices.  It is no surprise, therefore, that the last 10-15 years have seen increasing interest in personal finance education in schools.  And there is currently a move to make it part of the National Curriculum, with an All Party Parliamentary Group currently considering this. Research questions The research will ask the following questions: what is personal finance education for?  Should it seek to change attitudes towards money or increase knowledge about personal finance?  What kinds of attitudes and knowledge do people need?  Should it seek to change behaviour around money and, if so, what kinds of behaviour should be promoted?  These issues have generally become lost in the more immediate policy and practice issues but are vitally important and require detailed scholarly attention.  These issues also relate to debates about behavioural psychology and the extent to which the state should become involved in 'nudging' if not compelling people to behave in certain ways. As well as looking at the purpose of such education, the PhD would also explore different methods of delivering it, drawing on lessons from overseas as well as the UK.  There is currently discussion about whether personal finance education should be delivered through Maths or through PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic education).  There is also a discussion about whether such education can be effective if it is purely abstract rather than linked to more concrete forms of activity such as school-based banks or credit unions. Research methods The precise methods to be used in the study will be finalised at an early stage of the process as there is some flexibility.  Applicants will be expected to discuss their ideas for how to do the research in their application.  The research could be carried out through a range of methods.  For example, interviews with key stakeholders in the field may be useful to gauge their views about the purpose of personal finance education.  We have strong links with the Personal Finance Education Group and could draw on these for the PhD.  PFEG have agreed to give us access to their 35 'centres of excellence', largely schools which have strong track records of delivering personal finance education.  They also have a database of 30,000 teachers interested in these issues.  We could therefore also survey teachers for their views on the purpose of personal finance education.  In seeking to evaluate different approaches, we could use a case study approach selecting schools who use different methods to teach in this field.  We could then measure the impact of different methods on the children in those schools. Supervision within CHASM This PhD would be based within CHASM (Centre on Household Assets and Savings Management) in the School of Social Policy.  CHASM has four workstreams, one of which is financial capability (led by Lindsey Appleyard).  This PhD would build on some initial research carried out by Karen Rowlingson (Director of CHASM) and Lindsey Appleyard in Birmingham schools.   The PhD would be supervised jointly by Karen and Lindsey. Funding and how to apply This research project has funding attached. It is only available to UK citizens or those who have been resident in the UK for a period of 3 years or more. The scholarship is only offered on a +3 basis for full-time study. To be eligible, you must hold or be near completing a masters degree (or have equivalent research experience and expertise). The scholarship is funded at ESRC maintenance/fee rates. Early application is advised. You are recommended to send a draft research proposal and cv to Karen Rowlingson (see below), prior to making a formal application. Formal applications will be considered after 0900UTC Monday 9th January 2012.  Please apply online following the URL below and quoting the code: 2223 http://www.postgraduate.bham.ac.uk/apply/ Please send any informal enquiries to: Karen Rowlingson, Professor of Social Policy k.rowlingson@bham.ac.uk See further details of CHASM at: www.chasm.bham.ac.uk ID: 47785 Publication date: 21/11/11

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Created: 21/11/11. Last changed: 22/11/11.
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