Teaching everyday money skills to young people with disabilities

• Description of the programme
• The study
• Key findings
• Points to consider
• Full report

Description of the programme

The Work Pay$ programme was developed through a collaboration between the Wyatt Trust, Bedford Group and the Australian Industrial Transformation Institute (AITI) to help young people with disabilities engage with finances as they transition from school to work. The programme was 14 hours in total - comprising 14 topics delivered in one hour sessions over the course of a school semester. WorkPay$ was included in the Bedford Group’s School to Work Transition Programme (STWTP).

The core competencies of the programme were recognising money; valuing money; and safety with money. A total of 23 students from three schools commenced the pilot. The age range was 16 to 21 and less than a third were female.

The study

The evaluation focused on the appropriateness of the programme, effectiveness, efficiency and outcomes for the targeted group. The approach comprised:

• Course review – ongoing trainer reflections and review of programme processes.
• Student evaluation – assessment at three points (to capture the baseline, learning on the day of delivery and retention over the 14 week period).
• Teacher/support worker feedback – questions on student learning, course delivery and content.

Key findings

The greatest improvement and retention of outcomes for students were found in the following areas:

• Understanding payslips
• Price matching for large items
• Knowing what to do if unable to pay a bill
• Knowing where/how to save money

Trainers noted improvements in students’ abilities to:

• Understand the use of money
• Know about different ways of paying
• Know the difference between needs and wants
• How to keep cash and valuables safe
• Save for a goal
• Confidence in handling money

Points to consider

• Relevance:
  • There is an imperative for all young people to have financial capabilities that will enable them to make effective financial decisions as they transition from school to work. The introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Australia has heightened the need for people with disabilities and their carers to have greater levels of financial capability.
• Methodological limitations:
  • Surveys were not always disseminated at the planned times and some participants did not complete all surveys. The third survey was ultimately reduced in length by half due to time constraints on completion.
  • Only 15 out of 23 students completed the third survey.
• Generalisability/transferability:
  • The project was a pilot and the sample size was small reducing the generalisability of the outcomes.

Full report

Teaching everyday money skills to young people with disabilities - full report