Parents & Teachers Focus Groups

Parents & Teachers campaign
Submission for teacher focus groups
Laura Schlachtmeyer, (202) 435-9876 / April 15, 2014
In this submission:
I.
Message recruiting participation in the focus group
II.
Questionnaire to be answered on paper in the focus group
III.
Discussion guide for the focus group facilitator

Part I: Recruiting participants before the focus group
[to be sent out by outreach organization to a specified group of teachers; for example, a school system
sends out an e-mail to their list of teachers or posts a signup sheet]
Sample e-mail
[subject] Make your voice heard! Come to a focus group [DATE]
[text]
Take this opportunity to make your voice heard! Researchers will be in our area on [DATE] asking for
your experiences and opinions about teaching financial literacy in your classroom. Please participate in a
focus group if you answer “yes” to these three questions:
1. Have you taught personal finance, incorporated personal finance into your lessons, or will you teach
personal finance in the coming year?
2. Are you willing to share your opinions on how to build kids’ good habits with money and personal
finances?
3. Are you available to join us for 90 minutes on [DATE] at [TIME] in [LOCATION] for a focus group
discussion?
If you answered “yes” to the questions above, please reserve your place by calling [VENDOR TOLLFREE NUMBER] or sending e-mail to [VENDOR E-MAIL]. Do not respond to [this
school/organization]. You will receive [$50] as a thank-you for your time and candid opinions.
The researchers will compile your opinions with other teachers’ across the country, as part of a project to
learn about how confident teachers are with implementing financial education in their classrooms, and
what kind of help teachers might need.

Part II: Pre- or post-discussion questionnaire (15-20 minutes)
[to be completed by focus group participants at the beginning of the session]
OMB No. 3170-0036
Expiration Date: 06/30/2016

1. Years as a teacher [0-5, 6-10, 11-15, 15+]
2. Years teaching personal finance or incorporating the subject in your lessons [0-5, 6-10, 11-15, 15+]
3. Grades in which you teach, have taught, or will teach personal finance. Select all that apply.
__Pre-K to Grade 5
__Grades 6 to 8
__Grades 9 to 12
__Other: ____________________________________
4. How would you describe your financial education responsibility?
__I teach a dedicated course on personal finance or a financial literacy subject.
__I incorporate personal finance into my subjects.
__I will teach personal finance in the coming year.
__I used to teach personal finance or incorporate it into my subjects, but don’t anymore.
__Other: ____________________________________
4. How would you rate your financial knowledge?
__1 = I know the basics, but have much to learn.
__2 = I am more knowledgeable about some financial literacy topics than others.
__3 = I have a general understanding of all financial literacy topics.
__4 = I am very knowledgeable about most financial literacy topics.
__5 = I am very knowledgeable about all financial literacy topics.
5. Complete the following statement. The personal finance curriculum that I use, have used, or will use
was created by:
__Me
__Personnel within my school system
__Personnel at the state level
__An organization; please name the organization: ________________________
__Other: ____________________________________
6. How do you learn about personal finance resources? Select all that apply.
__Word of mouth
__Emails from district or state administrators
__Resource lists created by district or state administrators
__State conferences or events
__National conferences
__Personal finance training or continuing education programs
__Media
__Online searches
__K-12 educational organizations
__Personal finance organizations
__Other:

7. List a website you have found helpful when seeking financial information or resources.
_________________________________________________________
8. What online resources do you seek or have you sought in the past? Select all that apply.
__Curriculum
__Activity suggestions
__Handouts and printed information
__Online resources to share with students
__Other: ____________________________________
9. What online resources do you incorporate in your personal finance classes? Select all that apply.
__Online training or scenarios
__Videos
__Podcasts
__Games
__Blogs
__Articles
__Tools students can use outside of school
__Other: ____________________________________
10. Put a check mark next to all the topics that your students are familiar with.
__Paychecks
__Bank accounts
__Insurance
__Saving
__Identifying needs versus wants
__Investments
__Privacy and security
__Credit cards
__Goal setting
__Debit cards
__Delayed gratification
__Prepaid cards
__Donations
and giving
__Gift cards
__Money management
__Evaluation of advertising and
__Debt management
promotional offers
__Financial decision making
__Comparison shopping
__Other: ________________________
__Taxes

11. Put a check mark next to the top three topics that you think would be the most helpful for your
students to know about.
__Paychecks
__Bank accounts
__Insurance
__Saving
__Privacy and security
__Investments
__Identifying needs versus wants
__Credit cards
__Goal setting
__Debit cards
__Delayed gratification
__Prepaid debit card
__Donations and giving
__Gift cards
__Money management
__Evaluation of advertising and
__Debt management
promotional offers
__Financial decision making
__Comparison shopping
__Other: ________________________
__Taxes
12. How frequently would you like to receive messages and information about financial resources you
could use with students?
__Daily
__Weekly
__Monthly
__Every 3 or 4 months
__Every 6 months
__Every 12 months
__I don’t want to receive information
__Other: __________________________
13. What is the one thing you hope your students learn from the financial education they receive at
school?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Paperwork Reduction Act
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond
to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 31700036. It expires on 06/30/2016. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average approximately 90
minutes per response, including the time for reviewing any instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining
the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Responding to this collection of information is
voluntary. Comments regarding this collection of information, including the estimated response time, suggestions for improving the
usefulness of the information, or suggestions for reducing the burden to respond to this collection should be submitted to Bureau at
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Attention: PRA Office), 1700 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20552, or by email to
[email protected].

Part III: Discussion guide (70-75 minutes)
[to be facilitated by vendor]
1. Think about a reference Web site you have used to search for personal finance resources. (If needed,
examples may include the JumpStart Coalition’s Clearinghouse, the Council for Economic
Education’s EconEdLink, the Federal Reserve Personal Finance Resources, and listings through their
state’s Department of Education).
a. What did you like about the site? How could it have been improved?
b. What information was provided so that you could quickly decide if you wanted to learn more
about a resource?
2. If you learned of a specific online resource (e.g., program, activity, or tool) you could use with your
classes, what requirements would it need to meet or what would make you decide to use it?
3. Think about an online resource or tool that helped you understand or teach a personal finance topic.
What type of resource or tool did you use? (Probe for the source name or type of resource, such as a
video, handout, or website.) How did you use it? What was helpful or engaging about the resource or
tool or what could have made it more helpful or engaging?
4. Give yourself a letter grade A through F based on how prepared you are to meet your financial
education teaching requirements. [Note: participants do not need to share the letter grade.] What
information, resources, or guidance would help you get one grade higher?
5. Give your students a letter grade A through F based on their ability to meet the financial education
requirements and apply financial decision making. What information, resources, or guidance would
help them get one grade higher?
6. What additional information would you like to share about financial resources you use or need to
deliver effective financial education in the classroom?