Mensuração e avaliação do nível de alfabetização financeira dos alunos do ensino superior do IFSULDEMINAS

Abstract

With the rise of an increasingly complex financial market and the availability of new financial products and services to the population, it becomes essential to prepare for making informed decisions regarding this diversity of offerings. However, individuals make financial decisions at a young age, particularly when they decide to enter the job market or institutions of higher education. Therefore, financial education is crucial for the population to learn about the importance of finances in their daily lives and put into practice what they have learned through financial literacy. A significant portion of studies indicate a low level of financial literacy among young university students. Thus, this study aims to assess the level of financial literacy among higher education students at the Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology of Southern Minas Gerais (IFSULDEMINAS). To achieve this, a quantitative, descriptive research was conducted using a survey approach, with data collected through a structured questionnaire. Through data analysis, it was identified that 26.70% of students are financially literate, in addition to proving through non – parametric tests that only the variables gender and income (with the level of financial literacy varying from 0 to 6) showed a statistically significant relationship with the level of financial literacy. For financial literacy, considering literate and not-literate, only the gender variable showed a significant difference. And through multinomial logistic regression analysis, the variables gender, financial issues discussed with parents in childhood, taking subjects related to finance in high school, controlling money periodically, percentage of installment purchases in arrears and asking for a discount when purchasing in cash, may be statistically significant in explaining the level of financial literacy. In this way, this work contributed to identifying which topics should be covered in the training course on financial literacy in order to prepare students to better manage their personal finances, in addition to serving as a basis for future research on financial literacy.