Evaluation of the pilot project for kindergartens “Geldwert – Wertvoll”

Kindergarten

How can kindergarten children be introduced to the concepts of saving, buying and selling? How should materials be designed to present economic relationships in an age-appropriate way? And how can scientific insides be gained about financial education in kindergartens?

So far, there is little knowledge about financial education in kindergartens. To address this gap, the innovative pilot project “Geldwert- Wertvoll” (translation: "Money Value - Valuable") was launched in September 2023 by the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB), in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection and the Office of the Lower Austrian Provincial Government (Kindergarten Department) in 17 state kindergartens across Lower Austria.

The Federal Government of Lower Austria, the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection (Ministry of Social Affairs) and the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) are collaborating to enhance financial and consumer education in kindergartens. Together, we have launched the “Geldwert – Wertvoll” educational program, which covers topics such as money management, consumer behavior, values and mindfulness towards possessions, fairness as well as advertising and brand awareness. This initiative has been implemented in 18 state kindergartens across Lower Austria, reaching 54 groups since the fall of 2023. The program specifically targets preschool educators, children in their final kindergarten year (typically around five years old) and their families.
Aims of the project:
  1. Fostering financial education (topics related to money and saving), consumer education (topics related to consumption) and value education (incorporating sustainability into daily life)
  2. Professional training for preschool educators in the subject areas
  3. Development of new materials for kindergartens by the OeNB, the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs in cooperation with the Schuldnerhilfe OÖ (debt counselling), the OeNB and the Kinderbuchhaus Schneiderhäusl (Children’s book house)
An overview of the OeNB materials for kindergartens can be found here.

To ensure the effective implementation of the new educational programs, we are conducting a scientific evaluation throughout its one-year duration. This evaluation follows a participatory approach, actively engaging preschool educators and families in the process and allowing them to contribute to the development of the educational materials. Our primary focus is on the adult perspective, while children’s viewpoints are indirectly assessed through discussions with educators and families about their experiences with financial and consumer education in a kindergarten setting.

Our evaluation strategy follows a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative methods (focus groups) and quantitative methods (questionnaires), with a special emphasis on qualitative research. We examined the program’s implementation in greater depth using a qualitative case study design based on Yin (2014). With the start of the pilot project in fall 2023, two kindergartens were examined in detail as individual “cases.” At the beginning and end of the project, a focus group was conducted with preschool educators and parents or family members. The insights from these focus groups aimed to better understand the needs of those involved in the project and to generate deeper knowledge regarding the implementation of methods for promoting financial and consumer education.
In the final phase of the one-year pilot, we conducted a comprehensive quantitative online survey targeting all participating educators and families. This survey aims to validate hypotheses derived from the focus group discussions on a broader scale, providing extensive insights from the entire participant pool. Our methodological approach highlights the strength of a mixed-methods design, where hypotheses derived from qualitative methods are rigorously tested through a quantitative analysis involving a larger participant sample.

The final report summarizes the results of the one-year scientific research accompanying the project.
The full report is available in German in both PDF and HTML formats. A flyer with key results from the evaluation is also available.