Financial Literacy of People Gaining Economic Education in the Context of Acquired Practical Experience

Abstract

Financial literacy affects numerous economic decisions of peo­ple on a daily basis, as well as the strategic financial management of corpo­rations. In several previous studies, the authors confirmed a significant dif­ference in the level of financial literacy between full-time and combined stu­dents. Based on these results, they hypothesized that practical experience has a positive effect on the level of financial literacy, but this needed to be verified. Therefore, a new survey was conducted with an extended version of the questionnaire with questions specifically related to the practical use of financial products and services. Students of economics who have access to education that supports the growth of financial literacy were interviewed. However, the distribution of the examined groups was not determined by age, a form of study and other common aspects, but the divider was in form of the experience gained, which provided a unique approach using an ad­equate statistical set of respondents. The results from primary research showed differences in knowledge and the way of solving tasks in the moni­tored groups of respondents. Using statistical analysis methods and hypoth­esis tests, the authors’ hypothesis was confirmed and it was shown that stu­dents using a wider range of services performed better. It provides usable in­terdisciplinary outputs for HRM, applied psychology, pedagogy and finan­cial management. The level of financial literacy was tested by the personal finance index which is an innovative metric that analyses knowledge from the eight functional areas of financial literacy. Given that the research sam­ple was drawn from a group of people studying financial management and entrepreneurship subjects, it was also confirmed that theoretical knowledge alone is not sufficient to significantly enhance financial literacy. Thus, the ir­replaceability of practical experience for enhancing the level of financial lit­eracy was demonstrated.