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The Effect of Ability Matching and Differentiated Instruction in Financial Literacy Education. Evidence from Two Randomised Control Trials

Author

Listed:
  • Kaat Iterbeke
  • Kristof De Witte
  • Koen Declercq
  • Wouter Schelfhout

Abstract

The present paper examines the impact of ability matching and differentiated instruction on the learning outcomes of eighth and ninth grade students in a financial education programme. In particular, the effect of within-class ability matching is investigated by forming pairs of students either randomly or based on their abilities. In addition, the paper studies whether differentiated instruction, in the form of additional instructions for lower ability students, enhances the impact of the financial education programme. The paper provides evidence on the effects of both practices using two randomised control trials involving 65 schools and 2,407 students. Overall, the results suggest that the programme raises the financial proficiency of students by 0.18 standard deviations. Although the learning outcomes of the average student are not affected by the differentiation practices, non-native students significantly benefit from differentiated instruction.

Suggested Citation

  • Kaat Iterbeke & Kristof De Witte & Koen Declercq & Wouter Schelfhout, 2019. "The Effect of Ability Matching and Differentiated Instruction in Financial Literacy Education. Evidence from Two Randomised Control Trials," CESifo Working Paper Series 7997, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7997
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    Cited by:

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    2. De Beckker, Kenneth & De Witte, Kristof & Van Campenhout, Geert, 2021. "The effect of financial education on students’ consumer choices: Evidence from a randomized experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 962-976.
    3. Amagir, Aisa & van den Brink, Henriëtte Maassen & Groot, Wim & Wilschut, Arie, 2022. "SaveWise: The impact of a real-life financial education program for ninth grade students in the Netherlands," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C).
    4. Kaiser, Tim & Menkhoff, Lukas, 2022. "Active learning improves financial education: Experimental evidence from Uganda," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    5. Rodriguez-Raga, Santiago & Martinez-Camelo, Natalia, 2022. "Game, guide or website for financial education improvement: Evidence from an experiment in Colombian schools," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C).
    6. Joana Elisa Maldonado & Kristof De Witte & Koen Declercq, 2022. "The effects of parental involvement in homework: two randomised controlled trials in financial education," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 1439-1464, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    financial literacy; ability matching; differentiated instruction; randomised control trial;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

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