Consumer Education in the Curriculum

Where is the best place to teach consumer education in the curriculum?

There are many opportunities in both the primary and post-primary curriculum to:

develop consumer knowledge, understanding and skills
investigate consumer issues and topics

Some examples are outlined below.

Language and Literacy

Collecting and interpreting information
Expressing a choice
Negotiating a solution
Weighing up options
Advertising
Complaining
Consumer rights
Shopping experiences

Mathematics and Numeracy

Shopping
Surveys
Best buy decisions
Personal finance
The Euro

Science

Energy
Recycling
Environment
Food labelling
Health and nutrition
Safety
Sustainability

Geography

Resource use
Fair trade
Global interdependence
Sustainability

Citizenship

Needs and wants
Consumer rights and responsibilities
Poverty and wealth
Consumerism
Consumer representation
Consumer power
Democracy

Enterprise Education

Buying and selling
Pricing
Business responsibilities to consumers
Marketing
Business ethics

Design and Technology

Designing consumer goods
Recycling resources

Home Economics

Consumer rights and responsibilities
Food labelling
Nutrition
Buying household goods and services
Management of resources
Consumer organisations

Business Studies

Consumer law
Marketing
Pricing
Advertising

Economics

Markets and pricing
Market failure
Regulation
Competition
Poverty and wealth
Trade including EU
Business ethics

How does consumer education fit into the revised Northern Ireland Curriculum?

Consumer education shares the underlying principles and values of the revised aim of the Northern Ireland Curriculum which is outlined below:

The Northern Ireland Curriculum aims to empower young people to achieve their potential and make informed and responsible decisions throughout their lives.

Consumer education is about developing a toolkit of knowledge, understanding and skills to empower young people to make informed and responsible consumer decisions.

The Proposals for Curriculum and Assessment at Key Stages 1 & 2 (CCEA, April 2002) and the Proposals for Curriculum and Assessment at Key Stage 3 (CCEA, 2003) give details of the knowledge, understanding and skills to be developed in the curriculum.

How can consumer education be promoted throughout the curriculum?

The lesson plan section of this site includes examples of tried and tested lessons from across the curriculum for primary and post-primary schools. To view the lesson plans or to contribute a lesson plan to the site, click here.
Use a consumer issue or topic as a vehicle for work in Numeracy and/or Literacy.
The Primary Schools Poster Competition is a fun way to learn about consumer issues. Click here for more information.
The Young Consumer Competition Newsletter provides an opportunity for Year 10 pupils in secondary and special schools to produce a consumer newsletter. The Young Consumer Competition Quiz is also popular option with many schools. The heats are held each Autumn and the final is held in March.Click here for more information.
Think about organising an inter-disciplinary project with a consumer focus at Key Stage 3. Include a consumer issue in discussions at your School Council.

Why is consumer education relevant to all children and young people?

All children and young people are consumers. They handle money, interpret consumer information and make choices. They have the same basic consumer rights as adults and need opportunities to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary to make informed and responsible consumer decisions throughout their lives.

Advertisers recognise the importance of young people's spending power. They target advertising and marketing messages at specific age groups, even the very young. Research shows that from as early as four years old, children can distinguish between different brands.