Overview: Handling money and dealing with problematic consequences such as debt are more and more becoming central competencies at the transition to adulthood. To prevent excessive indebtedness, the teaching of financial competency is being increasingly included in the school curriculum. Background, research question: Becoming an adult means gradually taking over adult roles with respect to professional, social, political and economic aspects of life (see also Schäfers 2002). In our individualist society these role-taking processes are highly ambiguous and discontinuous. Youth not only understood as a transition from childhood to adulthood but as a phase of its own (Hurrelmann 2004) can be characterized as a time of exceeded uncertainty of status (Heintz 1962). Young people both want to enjoy youth as well as to be independent and responsible for their actions at the same time. These conflicting needs are both met by money: Participation in mass consumption gives young people and young adults an introduction to societal, cultural, and economic connections. The consumer behavior of young people that adults frequently find incomprehensible means for them that they are actively dealing with values, social or political realities, and economic connections. Having money at their disposal allows young people to experience themselves as independent and therefore adult. This becomes problematic if an individual does not have the financial means to fulfill consumer needs shaped by society and if young persons try to overcome an ever greater discrepancy between goals and means using borrowed money (see Merton 1995). A study supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation examines the following questions: How are young people dealing with money and especially with shortage of money, what meaning has money for the identity and social affiliation? What is their approach to debts? What possibilities exist in different institutions (school, social institutions, labour market, politics) for preventing or dealing with excessive indebtedness (Streuli et al. 2008). Main results in short: Handling money – our results show – is always a reflection of they way that we handle our lives. The meaning of money goes beyond just meeting basic needs. For some people money means power, some feel recognized when they buy something valuable, for others money is something they do not want to think about, especially when they are indebted. Whereas occasional debts belong to the everyday financial organization of young people, a problematic indebtedness situation usually stands at the end of a chain of health and social problems. These young people are under much greater strain due to life circumstances and critical events, and because of missing critical junctures with regard to school and vocational training, they much more frequently take part in transitional programs offered by the labor market. Most of the young people in this group are thrifty with money and handle money responsibly. But in contrast to this majority, the young people with the greatest risk of indebtedness are also found in this group. Financial independence is demanded of these young persons early on, and in the case of high debt they have little financial support. Our results show that when these young people get into debt, it is not mainly because they are careless or irresponsible but rather because they have an insecure existence and a lack of life prospects.

The study conducted a questionnaire survey and in-depth narrative/biographical interviews: Questionnaire survey: Sample of 537 pupils in Basle-City, average age 18.3 years, stratified by type of school: The survey questionnaire are concerning the following topics: - handling money: income and expenditures - meaning of money with respect to identity and social belonging - indebtedness (if there is any): amount and strategies to overcome Biographical interviews: Sample drawn from the questionnaire and from social institutions, with 21 young women and men: indebted at present/ formerly indebted / in stable financial situation, focusing on: - social background and personal orientation - personal and professional pathways - ways into indebtedness and strategies to overcome

The results of the study show that the handling of money and options for dealing with money shortages are decisively tied back to the person’s social situation. Young people from academic families significantly more frequently attend university-preparatory high schools. This group is usually supported by their parents, and financial independence is demanded of them only at a later time point in their lives. In the case the young person getting into a large debt, the parents have the financial possibility to make up the shortage without any red tape. The other extreme group that the study examined comes from socially disadvantaged families. At the time of transitioning to adulthood, young people are accompanied by the educational institution. Debt prevention in the school must include consideration of, for one, the essence of young consumer culture – particularly as a learning area for independence, social integration, and ecological responsibility – in a school learning process of financial competency. Pupils need factual information on money, budget planning, and credit and on the opportunities and risks involved. However, teaching that merely transmits knowledge about money and consumption falls short here. Pupils – whether at risk or not - also need reflection on symbols and values that money and consumption transmit and that shape the way that we live together in the peer group, community, and family. The risk group found in the present study also needs additional support that addresses the problem situation that precedes indebtedness and that includes not only young persons themselves but also their social surround if possible. The special challenge for teachers is to take into consideration the youth culture but also stratification mechanisms and to conceive of teaching as a guided opportunity for experimentation and learning.