Is The Financial Literacy Affected by The Field of Study? (A Comparison of Specialised Secondary Schools)

Abstract

The transition to a market economy system, changes in the lifestyle, the impact of new technologies, strengthening marketing efforts of financial intermediaries, all place increasing pressure on the ability to make correct financial judgments and the decisions, generally referred to as “financial literacy”. However, the content of this term is not defined precisely, many research studies analyzed this phenomenon and confirmed relatively low levels both in adults and in the young generation and its dependence on many factors. The aim of our study is to find out if the level of financial literacy is affected by the field of the study. We used a questionnaire-based research methodology. We asked two student groups to compare and provide the solution to three model financial situations. One group included students of a business academy and the second group included students of a secondary grammar school. Our results confirmed the slightly higher level of financial literacy of the students of the grammar school. The differences between these two groups of students did not confirm the impact of the field of study but turned our attention to other influencing factors.