Teacher Training on Financial Literacy
Description
Total Duration
48 hours (12 hours synchronous and 36 hours asynchronous)
Implementation Method
Remote
Subject Area
Financial literacy
Information
The Financial Literacy training program aims to support teachers with materials that will help students understand basic economic concepts and develop the skills to make sound financial decisions in a rapidly changing technological and social environment. The training program covers topics such as money management, payment methods, saving, financial risks, and the security of digital transactions. At the same time, it introduces participants to the assessment philosophy of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in the area of financial literacy, presenting examples of activities and topics based on real-life situations from students’ daily lives.
Upon completion of the training program, teachers will be able to:
• Explain what PISA assesses (the ability to apply knowledge in real-world situations)
• Distinguish between the concepts of “ability” and “skill,” as defined by PISA
• Explain the framework of topics/questions used by PISA
• Describe the structure of a PISA topic
• Design questions that make use of the different frameworks
• Describe the financial literacy competencies assessed by PISA questions
• Explain the PISA literacy levels
• Justify the performance/difficulty level of sample PISA-style questions
• Design questions with different difficulty levels
• Adapt questions—for example, from low difficulty to medium or high difficulty, or vice versa
• Recognize how students’ responses to PISA questions are coded
• Select PISA-style items—for example, from the Skills4Life platform or other sources—and design ways to use them
The Training Program is organized into modules, with a total training duration of 48 hours. The modules that make up the program are as follows:
1. PISA [Programme for International Student Assessment]
2. Financial Literacy: Concepts and Theoretical Framework
3. Financial Literacy: The Assessment Framework
4. Financial Literacy: Research Materials, Data, and Results from the PISA Study
5. Educational and Instructional Applications of the PISA Study
6. Utilization of PISA Research Findings
7. Public Understanding and Communication of PISA Research
8. Final Project—Submission of a Lesson Plan and Development of PISA-Style Questions
The training program is intended for secondary school teachers in the following subject areas: PE78, PE80
Participants who complete the entire Training Program (both synchronous and asynchronous formats) are required to complete all self-assessment exercises, as well as the final project. Participants who complete the Training Program in full will receive a Certificate of Successful Completion from the Center for Lifelong Learning (KEDIVIM) of the University of Ioannina, which will specify the duration of the program and the number of ECTS credits.
Please note that in order to progress from one module to the next, full-time participants must achieve a 75% passing score on the Self-Assessment Exercise. To successfully complete the Training Program, the final project must receive a positive evaluation.
Christina Vasilopoulou
Christina Vasilopoulou is an economist and educator with a background in Economics, Sociology, and Political Economy. She is a graduate of the Department of Economics at the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB), holds an MSc in Sociology from Panteion University with honors, and is a final-year student in the MSc program in Political Economy at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). She holds a teaching certification from the Program in Educational Sciences at the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB), where she was also a member of the program’s academic team, contributing to research and support activities on financial literacy and life skills courses. She has taught Economics and Social Sciences at the secondary level, and in recent years has worked at private international schools, with experience in the Cambridge and IB-MYP programs. In addition, she holds a Cambridge CELTA certificate, has been active in adult education focusing on Artificial Intelligence, and engages in academic work through translations, publications, and lectures.
Angelos Kyriakopoulos
Angelos Kyriakopoulos was born and raised in Marousi. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Piraeus. He earned a master’s degree (M.A.) in Educational Administration and Leadership from the European University of Cyprus. He has also attended annual seminars on School Psychology at the University of the Aegean, on Artificial Intelligence in Education at the University of Patras, on Effective Teaching at Gordon Hellas, as well as on the Prevention and Management of School Violence at the National Institute of Educational Policy (IEP) – National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). She worked at secondary school tutoring centers from 2008 to 2019. He has been teaching Economics at the Arsakeia Tositsia High Schools in Ekali since 2019. He has also served as the coordinator of Economics and Social Sciences courses at the schools of the Philekpaideutiki Society since 2025.
Evangelos Mavrikakis
Evangelos Mavrikakis is a teacher specializing in PE80 Economics with many years of experience in education and educational policy. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the Department of Finance and Banking Administration at the University of Piraeus, a master’s degree in Comparative Education, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration. He has served as a secondary school teacher and has held positions as an advisor to the Ministry of Education and as Senior Economic Advisor at the Institute of Educational Policy (IEP). In this capacity, he played an active role in shaping educational policies and programs, as well as in developing curricula and initiatives for general and vocational education, and for apprenticeships. He has participated in research projects, in NSRF projects as a principal investigator, in Erasmus+ programs, in writing teams, and in teacher training initiatives. His academic work focuses on the administration and organization of education, as well as on issues related to tourism marketing.
Aristides Notis
Aristides Notis is an economist and educator, a graduate of the Department of Economics at the Athens University of Economics and Business (ASOEE) and an MBA holder. He was born in Piraeus in 1974 and has been working in secondary education as an economics teacher since 2007. At the same time, he is actively involved in academic and educational activities as Editor-in-Chief of the educational journal XENOPHON, a member of the Scientific Committee of the Hellenic Economics Olympiad, and the person responsible for preparing the national team, and he also serves as Vice President of the Association of Secondary School Economics Teachers.
Panagiotis Prentzas
Panagiotis Prentzas was born and raised in Thermo, Aetolia-Acarnania. He is a graduate of the Department of Business Administration (BA) at the University of Patras and works as an economics teacher at a private high school. He is a member of the editorial team of the academic journal “Xenophon” on economics in secondary education and contributes to the development of the question bank for the 12th-grade Economics course. She is an author in the field of economics. She is also the creator of the educational website www.study4economy.edu.gr, which offers a wealth of digital educational resources for economics courses.
Sofia Takaoglou
Education Consultant and Economist, with teaching and administrative experience in public and private secondary education. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics Education and a master’s degree in Educational Sciences, with a specialization in Educational Leadership and Administration. He actively participates in academic committees for competitions, such as the “Hermes” Economics Competition and the “Economics Olympiad.” He has authored works in the field of economics for various age groups. These include the books *Money Is Not Meant to Be Wasted*, *Principles of Economic Theory*, *Civics for 10th and 11th Grade*, as well as the works *Principles of Economic Theory: Microeconomics” and “Principles of Economic Theory: Macroeconomics.” Since 2023, he has served as President of the Central Council of the Association of Secondary Education Economics Teachers.
Maria Tzortzi
Economist and Secondary School Teacher, a graduate of the Department of Economics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (EKPA), with teaching credentials from the Hellenic Open University (EAP). She has extensive teaching experience in private education. She is the author of textbooks on economics and social sciences for secondary education and serves as a question writer for the National Institute of Educational Policy’s (IEP) Bank of Questions with Graded Difficulty. She coordinates various educational programs and economics competitions, and also participates in professional development workshops focused on modern teaching methodologies and the use of digital tools in the educational process. In addition to her teaching work, she has been an active member of the Scientific Association of Secondary School Economics Teachers for many years and has served as president of the Attica Regional Chapter since 2023.
Evangelos Tychalas
Evangelos Tychalas is a tenured economics instructor (PE80), a graduate of the Department of Economics at the University of Macedonia and holder of a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Economics with a specialization in International Finance from the same university. In addition to his teaching duties, he is an active member of the Scientific Committee for the “Economics Olympiad” competition and of the editorial board of the journal “Xenophon,” to which he regularly contributes articles. His scholarly work includes publications in the proceedings of international conferences, the creation of innovative digital educational scenarios posted on the National Repository “Fotodentro,” as well as the production of original training materials for the professional development of secondary education teachers.
