The Cowin Financial Literacies Program prepares educators to use the case-study
method to teach their students financial literacy. Educators gain experience in
engaging learners as problem solvers in some of the most compelling dramas and
dilemmas of personal money management. This program grew out of the
Understanding Fiscal Responsibility Project (UFR) which developed a social studies
and mathematics curriculum that focused on the federal budget, the federal debt,
and budget deficit.  

The Understanding Fiscal Responsibility (UFR) Curriculum Evaluation
NCREST served as the evaluator of the Understanding Fiscal Responsibility Project
(UFR). The UFR Project developed a social studies and mathematics curriculum that
focused on the federal budget, the federal debt, and budget deficit. The curriculum aim to:
-  enhance student understanding of public policy issues;

-  to foster the skills needed to analyze these issues;
-  and to cultivate the dispositions necessary to become engaged with these issues
as citizens.

The NCREST evaluation documented the implementation of the curriculum, looked at the impact that the curriculum had on students, and explored the factors that might contribute to students’ learning.

About the partner organization

Dr. Anand Marri led the UFR Project with a collaborative team from Teachers College
that included faculty in the social studies mathematics programs, NCREST, and EdLab. To support the work, the Peter G. Petersen Foundation provided a three-year $2.45 million grant. 
Publications

Publications 

Marri, A. R., Ahn, M., Fletcher, J., Heng, T. T., & Hatch, T. (2012). Self-Efficacy of US
High School Teachers Teaching the Federal Budget, National Debt and Budget Deficit: A Mixed-Methods Case Study. Citizenship, Social and Economics Education, 11(2), 105-120. https://doi.org/10.2304/csee.2012.11.2.105