Abstract
This chapter applies argumentation theory to reveal conclusion-premise-inference structures for Canadian financial education arguments in the public sphere. Consistent with prior research on policy argumentation, pathos and ethos are utilized over logos to advocate the inclusion and development of financial education. The chapter traces how Canadian financial education policy was shaped not by evidence, but by the values of political actors. By calling attention to the structure and substantive nature of political arguments, this chapter raises issues of importance to those producing and enacting policy. Only through awareness of the nuances of policy arguments can policy be challenged, and calls for evidence-based policy can be addressed.
Keywords
This is a significantly re-worked version of a paper presented at the Ontario Society for Studies in Argumentation (OSSA) conference, May 2013, titled “When Politics Trump Argumentation: Financial Literacy Education Policy”.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
This paper employs Gottweis’s (2007) conception of political rhetoric as an “integral moment of policy making” that attempts to “convince, persuade, and communicate efficiently in the context of shaping and implementing public policies” (p. 240). In his view, rhetoric in policy production uses multiple channels (logos, ethos, pathos) to persuade with the goal of influencing policy.
References
Apple, M. W. (2004). Creating difference: Neo-liberalism and neo-conservatives and the politics of educational reform. Educational Policy, 18(1), 12–44.
Arthur, C. (2011). Financial literacy in Ontario: Neoliberalism, Pierre Bourdieu and the citizen. Journal of Critical Education Policy Studies, 9(1), 189–222.
Beveridge, A. (2012). The privatisation of the Berlin Water Company, the global city discourse and governance in 1990s Berlin. Berlin: Springer VS.
Blundell-Wignall, A., Atkinson, P., & Lee, H. S. (2008). Financial market trends: The current financial crisis: Causes and policy issues. OECD. http://www.oecd.org.
Boswell, C., Geddes, A., & Scholten, P. (2011). The role of narratives in migration policy-making: A research framework. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 13(1), 1–11.
Brown, L. (2009). Province to teach money skills in schools. Toronto Star, A3. November 2, 2009.
Bryan, J. (2010). Financial literacy simply not enough. Calgary Herald, E2. February 27, 2010.
Carrick, R. (2011, February 10). The lost key to financial literacy: Better industry disclosure. The Globe and Mail, B13.
Chevreau, J. (2011). Read between the literacy lines; Who really has consumers’ best interests at heart? National Post, FP10. February 12, 2011.
Clarke, M. (2012). The (absent) politics of neo-liberal education policy. Critical Studies in Education, 53(3), 297–310.
Cole, S., & Shastry, G. K. (2009). Smart money: The effect of education, cognitive ability, and financial literacy on financial market participation. Harvard Business School Working Paper 09-071. http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-071.pdf.
Crossman, B. (2013). Anxiety governance. Law & Social Inquiry, 38(4), 892–919.
Danes, S. M., & Haberman, H. R. (2007). Teen financial knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavior: A gendered view. Financial Counseling and Planning, 18(2), 48–60.
Daw, J. (2009). A little financial knowledge is a dangerous thing. Toronto Star, B2. December 1, 2009.
Fischer, F. (2003). Reframing public policy: Discursive politics and deliberative practices. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fischer, F., & Gottweis, H. (2012). The argumentative turn in public policy revisited: Public Policy a communicative practice. Durham: Duke University Press.
Flaherty, J. (2008). Speech by the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance. In International Conference on Financial Education, Washington, D.C. May 8, 2008. http://www.fin.gc.ca/n08/08-037.
Gasper, D. (1996). Analyzing policy arguments. European Journal of Development Research, 18(1), 36–62.
Goar, C. (2010). Task force has a few blind spots. Toronto Star, A19. March 1, 2010.
Gottweis, H. (2007). Rhetoric in policy making: Between logos, ethos and pathos. In F. Fischer, G. J. Miller, & M. S. Sidney (Eds.), Handbook of public policy analysis (pp. 237–250). Boca Raton, FL: CBC Press.
Groarke, L. (2013). Informal logic. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Retrieved from: http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2013/entries/logic-informal/.
Hitchcock, D. (2006). Informal logic and the concept of argument. In D. Jacquette (Ed.), Philosophy of logic (pp. 101–129). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Hansard, H. (2009, October 7). Legislative Assembly of Ontario. http://hansardindex.ontla.on.ca/hansardeissue/39-2/l173.htm.
Kahan, D. M., & Braham, D. (2006). Cultural cognition and public policy. Yale Law School, Public Law Working Paper No. 87. Yale Law & Policy Review, 24, 147–170.
Kahan, D. M., & Slovic, P. (2006). Cultural evaluations of risk: “Values” or “blunders”? Harvard Law Review Forum, 119, 166–172.
Kirby, J. (2010). Financial literacy is no easy task. Maclean’s, 26(43). August 22, 2010, General OneFile Web.
Kvernbekk, T. (2011). The concept of evidence in evidence-based practice. Educational Theory, 61(5), 515–532.
Levin, B. (2005). Governing education. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Levin, B. (2009). Does politics help or hinder educational change? Journal of Educational Change, 10, 69–72.
Mandell, L., & Hanson, K. O. (2009). The impact of financial education in high school and college on financial literacy and subsequent financial decision making. Paper delivered at the American Economic Association Annual Meeting, January 9, 2009, San Francisco, CA.
Marr, G. (2010). Does Dear Old Dad Know best about debt? The Vancouver Sun. June 19. Available online at http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=9ced251a-84a7-450f-91db-769f465a17b2. Accessed March 24, 2015.
McCormick, M. H. (2009). The effectiveness of youth financial education: A review of the literature. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 20(1), 70–83.
Mello, R. A. (2002). Collocation analysis: A method for conceptualizing and understanding narrative data. Qualitative Research, 2(2), 231–243.
Ministry of Education. (2010). A Sound Investment, Financial Literacy Education in Ontario Schools: Report of the Working Group on Financial Literacy. Toronto: Ministry of Education.
Moutsios, S. (2010). Power, politics and transnational policy-making in education. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 8(1), 121–141. doi:10.1080/14767720903574124.
OECD. (2011). Guidelines on financial education at school and guidance on learning framework (final draft for public consultation). http://www.oecd.org.
Pang, M. F. (2010). Boosting financial literacy: Benefits from learning study. Instructional Science, 38(6), 659–677.
Peng, T. C. M., Bartholomae, S., Fox, J. J., & Cravener, G. (2007). The impact of personal finance education delivered in high school and college courses. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 28, 265–284.
Pinto, L. E. (2009). Is financial literacy education the solution to credit crises? Our Schools/Our Selves, 19(1) (88), 123–133.
Pinto, L. E. (2012). Curriculum reform in Ontario: ‘Common sense’ processes and democratic possibilities. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
Pinto, L. E. (2013). When politics trump evidence: Financial literacy education narratives following the global financial crisis. Journal of Education Policy, 28(1), 95–120.
Roseman, E. (2010). Task force wants views on how to be money-wise. Toronto Star. April 21, 2010.
Roseman, E. (2011). Financial literacy means saying no to big business. Toronto Star, B4. February 10, 2011.
Scriven, M. (1976). Reasoning. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Shanahan, E. A., McBeth, M. K., Hathaway, P. L., & Arnell, R. J. (2008). Conduit or contributor? The role of media in policy change theory. Policy Sciences, 41, 115–138.
Sherraden, M. S., Johnson, L., Guo, B., & Elliott, W. (2011). Financial capability in children: Effects of participation in a school-based financial education and savings program. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 32(3), 385–399.
Stewart, D., & Menard, J. (2011, February 10). Financial literacy: Five keys to a national strategy. Globe and Mail, B13.
Stone, D. (2002). Policy paradox: The art of political decision making (3rd ed.). New York: W. W. Norton.
Task Force on Financial Literacy. (2010). Report of recommendations on financial literacy: Canadians and their money: Building a brighter financial future. http://www.financialliteracyincanada.com.
Torgerson, D. (2013). Policy as a matter of opinion. Critical Policy Studies, 7(4), 449–454.
Trichur, R. (2009). Task force aims to turn page on financial illiteracy; But critics doubt group can inspire real change. Toronto Star, B1. December 24, 2009.
Walstad, W. B., Rebeck, K., & MacDonald, R. A. (2010). The effects of financial education on the financial knowledge of high school students. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 44(2), 336–357.
Werner, W. (1991). Curriculum and uncertainty. In R. Ghosh & D. Ray (Eds.), Social change and education in Canada (2nd ed., pp. 105–113). Toronto: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Willis, L. E. (2008). Against financial literacy education. University of Pennsylvania Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper Series, Research Paper No. #08-10. http://www.law.uiowa.edu/documents/ilr/willis.pdf.
Acknowledgements
The author thanks Tone Kvernbekk and Robert C. Pinto for their helpful feedback and suggestions at various points in the development of this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pinto, L.E. (2016). Politics and Argumentation in Financial Literacy Education Policy. In: Aprea, C., et al. International Handbook of Financial Literacy. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0360-8_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0360-8_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-0358-5
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-0360-8
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)