This learning module aims to provide students with personal financial skills in the context of both the UK and abroad. However, you can easily edit the module to suit your home country.
I am motivated by my subject knowledge of Core Maths and personal experience of immigration to design this learning module. I teach a subject called Core Mathematics in a UK secondary school. Core Maths is designed for students who do not take pure mathematics but want to learn the practical application of mathematics. Studying Core Maths helps students develop their quantitative and problem-solving skills. This is valuable preparation for the quantitative skills they will need for many degree courses, particularly subjects such as psychology, geography, business-related courses, sports and social sciences, and natural science courses. One of the main topics of the course is Personal Finance.
I recently moved from South Africa to the UK. As I planned and executed the immigration, I had to navigate various legal, financial and social challenges. I had to find a job, apply for a work visa, exchange a lump sum of money and find a place to stay. The process involved making endless quantitative decisions and problem-solving. As I realized how immigration is an all-encompassing topic of personal finance.
This learning module is designed for high school students who want to improve their financial problem-solving skills. In today's world, young people need to be equipped to apply their financial skills not only locally but on an international level. At the same time, the learning module aims to encompass the broader social issues of immigrants and refugees.
EPOL481 New Learning speaks about transformative pedagogy. Transformative pedagogy encourages learners to create their own learning and build knowledge relevant to their lived experiences (Cope and Kalantzis, 2017). Cope (2017) talks about how transformative education changes the conditions of individual and social life in the video below.
Video: Education to transform the conditions of individual and social life. (Cope & Kalantzis, 2017)
The learning modules speak to personal finance, and budgeting as well as the experience of immigrants. Through providing thought-provoking prompts, the learning module hopes to transform students’ perspectives on society and its issues, at the same time, give students the mathematical and logical tools to transform their lives and the lives of others. Learners are also explicitly encouraged to negotiate local and global differences by exploring the international context and to extend the breadth and scope of their financial maths education.
This learning module is also designed with productive diversity in mind. Where productive diversity exists, learner differences are used as an abundant resource rather than a hindering factor. Kalantzis and Cope (2016) argue that we need to utilize learner differences as a productive educational resource.
Purpose: This learning module is designed around the topic of personal finance in the context of both the UK and abroad.
Prior knowledge: GCSE Mathematics (Calculating percentages and exchange rates). You can use the links and resources below to consolidate your prior knowledge and to further practice the skills you acquire in this module.
| Resource | Web address | More details |
| Hegarty Maths | www.hegartymaths.com |
You will be used to this by now. You have video lessons to watch and online tasks to complete to check your understanding |
| BBC Bitesize | https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z38pycw | Online notes and examples |
| Dr Frost Maths | https://www.drfrostmaths.com/index.php | You can complete online GCSE questions. |
| Corbett Maths | www.corbettmaths.com |
Notes, videos & questions with solutions |
Duration: 7 weeks
Material requirement: Device with access to the Internet.
Structure: The module consists of 6 lessons, spread over 6 weeks, with a comment and a short update required for each. At the end of the module, you will have a week to submit the first draft of a peer-reviewed project. Speak to the course instructor for a detailed timeframe for the course.
By the end of this learning module, you should be able to:
Purpose: This learning module aims to provide students with personal financial skills in the context of both the UK and abroad. However, you can easily edit the module to suit your home country. In each update, students are first introduced to an issue in the UK context and then encouraged to extend their knowledge to the international context.
Audience: The module is designed with Year 12 Core Maths students in mind. However, the lesson should be approachable by any learners who have basic knowledge of percentage and exchange rate calculation and experience in applying some financial maths formulae. You may wish to provide an introductory lesson covering some essential skills depending on the audience.
Structure: The module is delivered online. Another option is to deliver the module in a flipped classroom. Learners can read through the content of the lesson beforehand, and the lesson can be used as the time to discuss and comment.
In 2020, one in 30 people all over the globe is a migrant. The current global estimate is that there were around 281 million international migrants in the world in 2020, which equates to 3.6 per cent of the global population (McAuliffe et al., 2022).
Overall, the estimated number of international migrants has increased over the past five decades. The total estimated 281 million people living in a country other than their countries of birth in 2020 was 128 million more than in 1990 and over three times the estimated number in 1970 (McAuliffe et al., 2022).
Some people leave their homes and countries for a range of compelling and sometimes tragic reasons, such as conflict, persecution and disaster. While those who have been displaced, such as refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), comprise a relatively small percentage of all migrants, they are often the most in need of assistance and support. On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of people migrate internationally for reasons related to work, family and study. As working from home becomes the new normal, many people even opt to work from overseas.
You may not be considering living overseas at this very moment. However, there is a very good chance that you will have an opportunity to live, work, study or travel overseas in years to come.
The topic of migration and immigration needs to be approached carefully. Teachers may have to modify the learning module according to the context of their community. Be sensitive. There may be immigrant students in your class or students whose families are impacted by migration. Embody productive diversity by creating a space where students can share their lived experiences.
Before you can jump onto the plane to your dream destination, you need to consider legal matters. Most countries will require a valid visa at the border or airport immigration. Depending on the passport you hold, you may qualify for a visa exemption for tourism purposes.
The below figure illustrates the world's most and least powerful passports. For example, one can enter 193 countries without a visa with a Japanese passport. On the other extreme, one can only enter 27 countries with an Afghanistan passport.
Enrichment idea: Henley and Partners’ research (2022) has found that the countries with the most passport power tend to be those with the highest levels of peace. How Russia's invasion of Ukraine has affected passport power may be an interesting topic of class discussion. Following is an extract from an article by Hall (2022) linked here.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has moved up the rankings to 35 as the European Union voted for emergency measures to allow citizens to enter the bloc visa free for the next three years, following the outbreak of war with Russia.
In March, the EU agreed to implement the Temporary Protection Directive for Ukraine, which was introduced “to give immediate protection to persons who need it and to avoid overwhelming Member States’ asylum systems”, and more than 6 million people have so far fled the country to neighbouring nations, according to the UN.
Henley and Partners said the war “effectively condemns the Russian passport to junk status throughout much of the developed world”, warning of a “profound and perhaps irreversible impact on freedom of movement within the region as a new Iron Curtain descends”. Reflecting this, the Russian passport has dropped in the rankings since the onset of the conflict. It now sits in 50th place, after falling five places since last year.
Update prompts: Research the immigration policy of your home country. Would people find it easy to immigrate to your country? Does the country promote skilled immigration? open to work visa? refugees
A country's currency has a value that fluctuates relative to other currencies. Banks buy and sell currencies from each other and these trades set a market price for each currency.
In the retail currency exchange market, different buying and selling rates will be quoted by money dealers. Most trades are to or from the local currency. The buying rate is the rate at which money dealers will buy foreign currency, and the selling rate is the rate at which they will sell that currency.
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You are going to Florida and would like to buy £2750 worth of dollars.
a) How many dollars would you receive as an M&S card holder? (sell rate)
b) How many dollars would you receive at the standard rate?
Your trip is cancelled and you exchange your dollars back. How much money have you lost in these transactions
c) as an M&S cardholder? (buy rate)
d) at the standard rate?
Answer the above questions in the comment section, but using another currency than US dollars. Give feedback by replying to other people's answers.
Most currencies are traded on the world’s foreign exchange markets and their rates change daily. Remember that exchange rates are the price of one currency (e.g. Pound Sterling) in terms of another (e.g. Euro). Like any commodity, there is a demand and supply of pounds; the greater the demand for pounds, the higher the exchange rate. A fall in demand for pounds will cause a fall in the exchange rate for pounds.
Enrichment idea: An interesting point of discussion may be the fluctuation in the Russian ruble exchange rate over the past year. The below figure shows the Russian ruble to Pound sterling exchange rate over the past year. One can see that the ruble dropped drastically in value after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Then the ruble bounces back and continues to gain strength afterwards.
We talked about peace being the major determinant of passport strength in the previous section. In contrast, Russia’s rouble is now stronger than before the war compared to the world's major currency including the US dollar. This article by Shakhnov (2022) discusses the reasons why.
Update: The recent events in UK politics would offer interesting points of discussion for the class. You can shed light on the fluctuation in the pound sterling before and after the Queen's passing away, and the prime minister's resignation - but learners are very likely to bring these issues to the surface themselves.
When you start work you will receive a payslip each time you are paid. This is usually once a month. Your payslip shows your gross pay, the amount deducted for PAYE tax, National Insurance contributions, Student loans, Pension contributions etc.
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This is a valuable lesson in personal finance and budgeting. Discuss different types of deductions one can expect. These can range from income tax, pension contribution, union pay, insurance contributions etc.
You pay National Insurance contributions to qualify for certain benefits and the State Pension. You pay National Insurance if you're 16 or over and either:
You need a National Insurance number before you can start paying National Insurance contributions. You stop paying when you reach the State Pension age
You are working in a cafe and earn £16,000 per annum. How much income tax should you pay? How much national insurance should you pay?
There are some complicated rules covering specific cases. These can be found on the HMRC website. For the exercise, you can use the abbreviated table below.
Personal allowance is £12,500
Taxable income is £16,000 - £12,500 = £3500
National insurance = 12% of £16,000 - £8632 = £884.16
Have you watched Emily in Paris? Emily is a Chicago marketing executive who moves to Paris for work. This article lays out the living cost in Paris to afford Emily's lifestyle in this popular Netflix series.
According to Statistica, the average square meter price of apartments in Paris is €10,203 as of January 2022. For Emily’s apartment, which is shown to be approximately 100 square meters, that would come out to a whopping €1,020,300.
You are likely to start off by renting a place. After some time, you may consider purchasing a property using a mortgage. Work through the following PowerPoint on mortgages in the UK.
With the average house in the United Kingdom (UK) costing over 256,000 British pounds as of March 2021, it is probably no surprise that the average age of a first time buyer in the UK was 31 years old. In certain regions, such as Greater London and South East, buying your first home can be especially challenging because of the substantially higher average house prices. So how has the number of first time buyers developed in recent years? Since the Great Recession, the number of people who bought their first home in the UK increased but the growth rate slowed down in recent years. In 2020, largely due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, the number of first time buyers fell below 2016 levels.
The website also includes a guide for first-time buyers, laying out the steps for purchasing a property.
Step 1: Create a media work answering the questions below. You can use the media of your choice ranging from a short clip, interview article, PowerPoints, posters etc. Post your work on Microsoft Teams for others to browse.
Step 2: You will be asked to give detailed and constructive peer feedback to two of your peers. You will receive a feedback request from the instructor.
| Knowledge process | Annotation codes | Review criteria | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Analytical Knowledge Process |
CRI+ CRI- |
How effectively does the peer reason, argue, make logical connections, draw conclusions about cause and effect and analyze? |
Limited analytical and critical thinking. | Reasonable analytical and critical thinking. | Extensive analytical and critical thinking. |
| Applied Knowledge Process |
CRE+ CRE- |
How effectively does the peer apply the knowledge to the international context? | Limited application and creative extension. | Reasonable application and creative extension. | Extensive application and creative extension. |
| Theoretical Knowledge Process |
THE+ THE- |
How accurate and logical are the calculations involved? |
Limited accuracy and logic. (4-5 errors) | Reasonable accuracy and logic. (2-3 errors) |
Superb accuracy and logic. (1-2 errors) |
Step 3: Following the feedback from your peers, you will have a chance to update and improve your draft.
This peer-reviewed project provides students with an opportunity to apply what they have learned to a different context. They are expected to navigate the financial and legal challenges of moving and settling overseas. The first purpose of the project is for students to practice and consolidate the techniques of financial mathematics. The second purpose is for students to be curious and research what is like to be moving to a different country. They can gain a global perspective and be open to international opportunities. At the same time, students may gain more understanding of the struggles of immigrants in their own community.
Students will peer-review others work and provide feedback for improvement. An educator may need to provide more explicit guidance for constructive peer feedback if the class is not familiar with the feedback process. Students will be able to use the feedback to make any updates before turning in their final product for a grade.
Learning Goal: To reflect critically on your learning journey
Now that we are at the end of the course and ready to embark on the journey, let's hear your thoughts. Please complete the survey here. We will discuss some of the key reflections as a class
This is an optional post to assess and evaluate the success of the course. You can highlight some of the key reflections to the class with another admin update. Alternatively, if you are meeting the class physically, students can share some of their thoughts verbally with the rest of the class.
Chalet Couleurs de France. (2022, September 24) How much would it cost to live like Emily in Paris? https://www.chaletcouleursdefrance.com/how-much-would-it-cost-to-live-like-emily-in-paris/
Hall, S. (2022, August 11). These are the world’s best passports to own in 2022. Weforum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/08/world-passport-power-index-henley/
Kalantzis, M., & Cope, B. (2016). New media and productive diversity in learning. Blickwechsel/Diversity: International Perspectives on Teacher Education.
McAuliffe, M., Freier, L., Skeldon, R., & Blower, J. (2022). World migration report, 2022(1). IOM UN Immigration.
Shakhnov, K. (2022, June 13). Russia’s rouble is now stronger than before the war – western sanctions are partly to blame. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/russias-rouble-is-now-stronger-than-before-the-war-western-sanctions-are-partly-to-blame-184700
Statistica. (2022, January 17). Average square meter price of apartments and houses in the largest French cities as of January 2022, by type of housing. https://www.statista.com/topics/4483/first-time-home-buying-uk/#topicHeader__wrapper
Statistica. (2021, July 19). First-time home buying in the United Kingdom - statistics & facts. https://www.statista.com/topics/4483/first-time-home-buying-uk/#topicHeader__wrapper
AMSP. (n.d). What is Core Maths? Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://amsp.org.uk/universities/core-maths#:~:text=Core%20Maths%20is%20an%20umbrella,as%20an%20AS%20level%20qualificatio.
Zarpli, O., & Altundal, U. (2022). Wealth, geopolitics, and the great mobility divide. Henley Global Mobility Report 2022 Q1. https://www.henleyglobal.com/publications/global-mobility-report/2022-q1/travel-mobility-trends/wealth-geopolitics-and-great-mobility-divide