Description of the programme

Wingate Avenue Community Centre (Wingate) in inner northern Melbourne led the delivery of the Financial Literacy programme to newly arrived migrants, refugees, and other members of the culturally and linguistically diverse (or CALD) community between July 2015 and June 2016.

Its goal was to improve the financial literacy knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours of newly arrived migrants and refugees to enable better-informed financial decisions and, in turn, improve financial outcomes for them. It aimed to reach 800 CALD community members through 320 classroom sessions within existing English language courses and two financial literacy-focused community forums (including through delivery partners).

The study

The overall aim of the evaluation was to assess the reach, appropriateness and effectiveness of the intervention.

It was commissioned by Wingate Avenue Community Centre with funding from Financial Literacy Australia.

The evaluation used a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, including pre-post programme surveys and semi-structured interviews with teachers and students at the trial phase, post-forum participant surveys, surveys and focus groups with programme deliverers after revisions to the programme materials, and detailed observations from the programme manager.

Its objectives were to evaluate:

• the extent to which the programme delivered its targets;
• the extent to which the programme resulted in changes in participants’ financial literacy awareness, knowledge, attitudes and behaviour; and,
• the overall effectiveness of the programme, and its most appropriate and successful elements for wider delivery.

Given the target population, surveys were designed to be appropriate for the varying literacy levels of the students participating in different units of the programme and used language as well as pictures and diagrams.

What are the outcomes?

Based on quantitative and qualitative measures, the study measured the extent of change in knowledge, attitudes and behaviours, as well as whether participants improved their financial position.

Key findings

• The programme delivered 254 classroom-based two-hour sessions involving 681 students and 98 people attended two public forums (from a target of 800 students across 320 sessions).
• There were twice as many women participants and men and the modal age group was 31-40; almost double the number of sessions were completed by students with lower literacy and numeracy levels than higher levels
• Content and delivery of the programme was fairly appropriate for students and teachers (based largely on data from the trial phase).
• Following adaptation and improvement of course materials, evidence from teachers of students with lower literacy and numeracy levels indicated that course content was appropriate.

• Significant improvement in knowledge, with almost all attendees indicating an increase in knowledge about finance and financial decisions (e.g. a 12% improvement in the number of students who know what a loan is).
• Significant improvement in attitude, with almost all attendees indicating an increase in confidence in making financial decisions (e.g. a 25% increase in confidence using internet banking and an 11% increase in confidence about signing contracts).
• Evidence of some positive change in behaviour, with some attendees indicating their intention to change something about their financial practices (e.g. agreement that “I will make a plan for my money”).
• • There was evidence that the programme – the classroom sessions and the forums – was valuable to participants from different parts of the community.
  • Students and teachers particularly liked the audio visual and practical, the adaptability of teaching resources and the range of financial management options and information.
• • Qualitative evidence indicated some improvement (though the study accepts it is difficult to determine the longer-term impact of the programme on students' lives and their financial position).

Points to consider

• • The evaluation is characterised primarily by a process evaluation and the impact evaluation elements largely rely on student self-reported knowledge, attitudes and intentions rather than measured change in knowledge, skills, behaviour and longer-term outcomes.
  • The authors also note that, given the target population, the data collection tools may have been difficult to understand, making the data unreliable.
  • Most of the data collection was based on the trial phase of the programme and delivery at the main learning centre only, which may tend to misrepresent the true impact of the programme. The robustness of the qualitative evidence is unclear.
• • Overall, the findings appear to be indicative rather than replicable based on robust data collection and rigorous analysis.
• • There is relevance to and learning for the delivery of financial capability programmes for hard to reach groups and speakers of other languages in a wide range of contexts.

Full report

Wingate Avenue community centre financial literacy program evaluation - full report