Extracting the main characteristics of the economic training program for high school students

Financial literacy is an essential competence in societies depending on individual responsibility and self-sufficiency. The aim of this study was to extract the characteristics of economic training program for high school students.

This research is a kind of developmental and applied studies in terms of purpose. This research is methodically among the qualitative-documentary researches following the systematic review of Cochran. In this study, from the total number of searched articles according to the desired criteria, 1121 articles have been extracted in the first step and in the final step, 37 documents entered the systematic analysis process. Thematic analysis method has been used to analyze the information in this research. In this research, the reliability and verifiability of data has been confirmed and qualitative analysis has been performed by two coders; the rate of agreement of the evaluators for the performed analyzes was 79.6%.

The results of thematic analysis after classifying the initial codes identified 55 basic themes in 4 organizing themes (purpose, content, learning and teaching strategies and evaluation that have formed the comprehensive theme of economic education program for high school students. The research findings have identified the components of the economic education program in the form of objective elements (cognitive, emotional and skill), content, teaching and learning strategies and evaluation.

Upstream documents of the education system, such as the National Curriculum document, emphasize the acquisition of economic skills. Also, in the document of education fundamental transformation, economic education is mentioned as one of the main branches of training. To achieve the goals of economic education among high school students, we need to design and produce rich content tailored to the needs of students. In this study, the results of systematic review data analysis showed that content related to students' lives (general) and this content can be prepared in various formats, including printed and non-printed sources. Appropriate learning strategies in the economic education program can present the generated content to students in creative ways and develop students' economic knowledge and skills. Finally, the evaluation of the economic education program can identify the gaps in this program and evaluate the rate of student’s success in achieving goals.