Engr. Maria Cristina Lalaine M. Nerona, Ph.D.

Isabela State University

Teachers, as compared to the majority of the employed sectors in the country, are receiving salaries above the minimum wage set by law. This above the minimum salary, supposedly, places the average teacher above the poverty line as this is paramount to the demand of the job. But as can be observed around, many teachers experience financial struggles.
With an end-view of improving financial literacy, this study was conducted to determine the level of financial literacy of the faculty of Isabela State University City of Ilagan Campus. A survey questionnaire was used to obtain the data needed to answer the objectives of the study. The results indicate that majority of the respondents are not financially literate to make critical decisions on financial concerns. The female respondents are more involved in the identified financial products compared to the male respondents. Included in the study was the respondents’ demographic profile as significant factor in their current financial literacy state. The results indicate that the demographic profile based on sex is not a significant factor that may spell a difference in the level of financial literacy among the respondents, while age, academic rank, and educational attainment are significant factors. The study also tested the relationship between the level of financial literacy of the respondents and their involvement on financial products. The data shows that there is a weak relationship between the two variables.
Based on the findings of this study, there is a need to increase the financial literacy level of the respondents. To increase the financial literacy level of the faculty, the Isabela State University may resolve to implement intervention approaches such as to: integrate financial literacy in the faculty development program of the Institution; conduct seminars and programs on financial literacy early on in the career of the faculty in order for them to fully maximize the benefits of being financially literate individuals; enhance the Finance Units of the Institution in the provision of assistance to faculty in their personal financial management; and institutionalize advocacy drive on the importance of financial literacy to the financial stability of the faculty.

financial literacy, financial products, personal financial management

1) Bernheim, B. Douglas and Garrett, Daniel M., The Determinants and Consequences of Financial Education in the Workplace: Evidence from a Survey of Households (July 1996). NBER Working Paper No. w5667, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=225571

2) “Bruhn, Miriam; Zia, Bilal. 2011. The Impact of Business and Financial Literacy Training for Young Entrepreneurs in Bosnia-Herzogovina. Finance & PSD Impact; No. 13. © World Bank, Washington, DC. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/9dfc6433-2884-5727-95a9-b9aa22404c8b License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”

3) Capuano, Angelo and Ramsay, Ian, What Causes Suboptimal Financial Behaviour? An Exploration of Financial Literacy, Social Influences and Behavioural Economics (March 23, 2011). U of Melbourne Legal Studies Research Paper No. 540, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1793502 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1793502

4) Garman, E. T., & Forgue, R. E. (2000). Personal finance: the human resource manager: Caught in the middle.CUPA Journal, 45(1), 33-35

5) Goodwin, Charles (1994). Professional Vision. American Anthropologist, 96(3):606-633.

6) Holzmann, Robert, 2010. "Bringing Financial Literacy and Education to Low and Middle Income Countries: The Need to Review, Adjust, and Extend Current Wisdom," IZA Discussion Papers 5114, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

7) Lusardi, Annamaria and de Bassa Scheresberg, Carlo, Financial Literacy and High-Cost Borrowing in the United States (January 31, 2013).

8) Lusardi, Annamaria, and Olivia S. Mitchell. 2014. "The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence." Journal of Economic Literature, 52 (1): 5-44

9) Lusardi, Annamaria, Saving and the Effectiveness of Financial Education (2003). Published in Mitchell, O. and S. Utkus (Eds.) (2004). Pension Design and Structure: New Lessons from Behavioral Finance. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press., Pension Research Council WP2003-14, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=476022 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.476022

10) Mahdzan, N. S., & Tabiani, S. (2013). The Impact of Financial Literacy on Individual Saving: An Exploratory Study in the Malaysian Context. Transformations in Business & Economics, 12, 41-55.

11) Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2012) Research Methods for Business Students. Pearson Education Ltd., Harlow.

12) van Rooij, Maarten and Lusardi, Annamaria and Alessie, R.J.M. (Rob), Financial Literacy and Stock Market Participation (September 2007). DNB Working Paper No. 146, Michigan Retirement Research Center Research Paper No. 2007-162, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1014994 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1014994

VOLUME 06 ISSUE 03 MARCH 2023

There is an Open Access article, distributed under the term of the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits remixing, adapting and building upon the work for non-commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited.