Consumer education

Consumer education (including consumer education, English Consumer Education; . Earlier consumer education ) refers to the teaching of life skills. This includes, among other things, the provision of financial skills such as budgeting for the design and management of everyday financial management. In addition, consumers conveys education, particularly skills in the areas of healthy eating, environmental education, education for sustainable development, media or dealing with advertising.

Consumer education will empower consumers to the fact that

  • They shop responsible
  • They manage their available budget responsibility
  • They care for critical life take ( old age, sickness, accident, etc.)
  • Health care for the adults and the children entrusted to them succeed and
  • Ecological and socio-ethical values ​​are taken into account in consumer decisions.

The scope of consumer education so that includes, among other things, economic, environmental, technical, legal, political, cultural, social and scientific dimensions. Consumer education can therefore not be assigned to a specific subject Science.

Consumer education in Germany is so far only rudimentary part -school programs. Offers consumer education can be found mainly in adult education and distance learning. The situation of consumer education in mainstream schools is inconsistent and confusing. In consumer education activist organizations such as the German Federation of German Consumer Association therefore demand has long been a nationwide appreciation of consumer education within the curricula of the federal states.

Genesis and development of consumer education

Their beginnings had consumer education in home economics -oriented education for girls in the last third of the 19th century. Approaches a theoretical foundation for consumer education can be found in Germany, especially since the 1960s. In the following two decades, created numerous concepts, materials, media, consumer education. Particularly budgetary, economic and labor theory can be used as a "carrier subjects" of consumer education in general schools are considered. Support, these areas of consumer advice centers and consumer associations (eg " Foundation Consumer Institute", " Association of Consumer Organisations ", etc.), now in the Federation of German Consumer Association eV / are merged vzbv, learn.

In particular, in the 1990s, the school consumer education has lost its meaning and is only recently - again more sharply into focus of scientific and educational debate - with the ever-growing demands for personal responsibility, etc. of the consumers.

Against this background, the first educational goals, standards and competencies for nutrition and consumer education have been developed, in particular by the funded by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Protection Project REVIS ( reform to nutrition and consumer education in schools). The research project of the Universities of Paderborn and Flensburg has also produced a core curriculum for nutrition and consumer education.

Understanding consumer education today

Here is meant by consumer education, the capacity for knowledge, understanding, reflection and action in different areas of consumption on the basis of individual and social needs (including health-oriented, ecological decisions and other ethical value systems ). Consumer education is thus viewed from the perspective of people as proactive users.

Consumer education has accordingly the object within the meaning of sustainable development to show the relationships of production and consumption in their economic, environmental and social aspects and to empower individuals to make conditions of their actions themselves and to take responsibility for their consumption behavior. In order to succeed they need skills to organize their individual resources management, for addressing their economic and social security and for the development and implementation of sustainable aspects of food and household styles.

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