Research Article

Using Positive Youth Development Constructs to Design a Money Management Curriculum for Junior Secondary School Students in Hong Kong

Table 1

Aims and learning targets of P.A.T.H.S. I curriculum units related to “Money and Success.”

GradeUnitAimsLearning targets

S1Yes, I Can! (SE1.2)To experience self-efficacy through enactive attainmentTo experience success
To identify past successes
Doing it the SMART Way (SE1.4)To experience feelings of self-efficacy through goal attainmentTo set feasible goals
The Dream Train (SD1.3)To enhance students’ competence in self-determination by setting optimal and feasible goalsTo master skills in goal setting and goal adjustment
My Favorites? (SP1.1)To facilitate students to think about their life prioritiesTo reflect on materialistic values and to weaken them
Life Compass (BF1.2)To enable students to develop a belief in the future and to encourage them to adopt a positive view in identifying life orientationTo have positive beliefs about the future in study, family, and peer aspects

S2A Career Rhapsody (SC2.2)To build up the value that people of different occupations should be accorded the same respectTo understand that different occupations contribute to Hong Kong and should be respected
Living Elsewhere (SP2.1)To encourage students to live a meaningful life by understanding the living condition of the deprived
To understand the plight of the deprived
To treasure what we have and live a meaningful life
The World of Money (SP2.2)To encourage students to reflect on the meaning of money in their livesTo reflect on the meaning of money
To understand that material possessions may not necessarily lead to happiness
The Values of Life (ID2.1)To build a positive self-image through discovering the most ideal aspects of oneselfTo self-encourage and affirm oneself for the values that one is pursing

S3What Will Your Future Be? (BF3.1)To assist students to choose a realistic but optimistic way of lifeTo adopt a realistic and positive attitude in exploring future careers
Looking Forward (BF3.4)To cultivate students’ abilities to plan for future education and careers, and to monitor and motivate their goal-pursuing behaviorTo set up evaluating and rewarding thinking patterns to strengthen one’s perseverance in the process of goal attainment
Where Does Value Lie? (SP3.2)To help students understand life values from different perspectivesTo reflect life values from the stories of people who have suffered
To understand the importance of belief in life
Why? (SP3.3)To deepen students’ understanding of the meaning of lifeTo introduce the work and life values of people who are committed volunteers and to explore how their beliefs influence their commitments
The Life Novel (SP3.4)To help students search for their own meanings of lifeTo integrate and consolidate the content learned in previous units
A Contented Heart Is a Joyful Heart (RE3.1)To promote optimism through positive thinkingTo develop an optimistic view and a contented attitude towards life among students
Who Is the Richest? (SE3.1)To cultivate students’ self-efficacy in wealth managementTo understand that successful wealth management relies on the ability to exercise self-control and delayed gratification
To understand the importance of controlling desires for unnecessary material things
My Dream! My Way! (SE3.2)To motivate oneself to live according to one’s dreams through an appropriate vision of the futureTo understand the meaning of dreams and their importance in life
To identify the personal qualities that help one overcome environmental constraints and realize dreams
Siblings of Hong Kong (SC3.2)To establish the vision of contributing to one’s countryTo reflect on how we can contribute to China by learning the lives of people who are living in a poor condition
The Truth Behind Advertisements (CC3.2)To apply critical thinking in tackling information promoting materialism and consumerismTo reflect on what has to be considered before consumption

Notes: BF: beliefs in the future, CC: cognitive competence, ID: healthy identity, RE: resilience, SC: social competence, SD: self-determination, SE: self-efficacy, SP: Spirituality.