Health and physical education is linked to financial literacy education in a number of ways. The overall expectations in Grades 4-8 support students’ ability to:
- apply health knowledge and living skills to make reasoned decisions and take appropriate actions relating to their personal health and well-being.
- make connections that relate to health and well-being – how their choices and behaviours affect both themselves and others, and how factors in the world around them affect their own and others’ health and well-being.
An example of this would have students explore making informed choices by analyzing personal food selections, practicing comparison shopping, creating menus on a budget and looking at different foods based on nutritional value and price. Understanding the role advertising plays in influencing their food choices is a powerful step to becoming savvy consumers.
Financial literacy is connected to students’ current and future well-being. When exploring topics such as healthy eating, substance use and abuse, mental health and personal relationships, students can begin to make connections to how decisions (both personal and financial) have an effect on their overall well-being, and that of others, both in the short and long-term. Having students become compassionate citizens is a goal of financial literacy in the health and physical education program.