How might we better support financial education in rural areas? (February 9, 2021)
Common markers of financial capability are often too broad and ignore variations of values and goals within a community’s context. The purpose of this policy convening was to examine diversity represented across communities isolated from the mainstream—for the purposes of this discussion, those in rural areas, military communities and native communities—and the potential tensions that arise as a result of teaching traditional financial education content and delivery in those communities. Participants discussed how popular financial ideologies may play in perpetuating narratives associated with the American ideals (self-reliance, “the good life,” “the self-made man,” etc.) and narratives that may reinforce harmful practices and ways of thinking, including those connected to notions of community, culture, merit, and status. This event focused on surfacing and reflecting on how traditional financial education may be misaligned with the needs of those in such communities in the hopes of better positioning the financial education sector to re-evaluate and perhaps reset these common signals of financial well-being.