Potential of Participatory School Budgeting Practices in Improving Financial Literacy of Students

Over the last five years, initiative school budgeting has become a noticeable part of the Russian educational landscape. However, the educational opportunities of this practice are not fully utilized. Since 2021, the staff of the NIFI Initiative Budgeting Center of the Russian Ministry of Finance has developed and is actively implementing an original model of initiative school budgeting focused on the integration of the practice of initiative budgeting into the educational process and targeted solution of educational tasks. The next stage of this work is to explore the possibilities of initiative budgeting in the context of improving financial literacy of students. The assumption that initiative budgeting at school can improve financial literacy in the aspects most relevant to adolescence is substantiated in this article based on the analysis of existing normative documents, domestic and foreign studies, as well as domestic experience. To clarify scientific ideas about financial literacy as an educational result (social attitude, readiness for a certain type of behavior), a significant body of modern research on financial behavior and financial literacy was analyzed. The authors propose a model of the potential of initiative school budgeting in improving students’ financial literacy, including value, emotional, cognitive, operational and behavioral components. The achievability of potential components is justified by a set of situations arising in the implementation of initiative budgeting in general education organizations. The proposed model allows to develop an empirical research program and select diagnostic procedures. The presented material can be helpful for teachers who use initiative school budgeting to improve students’ financial literacy.