Mapping Reality Store Curriculum with Virginia Standards of Learning for Economics and Personal Finance

Abstract

In 2017, over 78% of workers lived from paycheck to paycheck, a rise from 75% in the previous year. This highlights the importance of financial literacy education for high school graduates, particularly in preparing them for the future. Many adults lack confidence in budgeting, investing, and saving money, which can lead to negative financial behaviors. Financial education is crucial for ensuring the long-term financial well-being of individuals, families, and the nation. Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) is a leading educational outreach program that focuses on many educational content areas including financial literacy education. One program used is the Reality Store financial simulation, which provides a hands-on, experiential learning environment to teach financial behavior and its correlation to financial planning, goals, and decisions. The program relies on community volunteers, including community leaders and agency representatives, to make real-world connections and associate financial knowledge with real-world experiences. Project data was collected via curriculum mapping using document analysis. Results showed that there is a discrepancy in the relationship between the Reality Store curriculum and Economics and Personal Finance SOLs. There is an opportunity for curriculum adaptation to strengthen relationships and extend financial literacy learning options, which provide high school graduates the knowledge needed to live a healthier financial life as they enter adulthood after graduation. Recommendations of how to improve the relationship between curriculum and standards would enhance financial literacy learning options, which provide high school students the knowledge needed to live a healthier financial life as they enter adulthood.