Financial Literacy Through a Project-Based Approach – Professional Gathering for Educational Professionals

On the occasion of the World/European Money Week, on 27 March 2026, Martina Jerković, univ. spec. oec., teacher and project leader from the Ivan Meštrović Secondary School in Drniš and Scientix Ambassador, will present two research projects on the financial literacy of Generation Z. The first project, conducted in 2024/2025, explored the use of bank cards among students on a sample of 988 students from 31 Croatian schools, while the second, currently underway in the 2025/2026 school year, examines attitudes towards the digital euro with the participation of 1,082 Croatian and 67 international students from five European countries. Both projects were carried out in cooperation with the Croatian National Bank and within the framework of the Global Money Week initiative. The key finding of both projects reveals the so-called Generation Z knowledge paradox — students are digitally literate but have a superficial understanding of financial concepts, while as many as 41% of information about digital money comes from school, placing schools in the role of the most important and most responsible source of financial literacy for young people.