At present, the teaching of consumer competence focuses on empowerment of the consumer, instruction in participation and promotion of the consumer’s role as an active citizen with the ability to cope with various consumer environments and situations. Consumer skills can partly also be perceived as part of civic skills in our information- and technology-oriented society.
A consumer’s abilities are determined by that individual’s understanding of consumer rights and responsibilities, legislation, individual and household finances, commercialism, home management and the role all these aspects play in society and the individual’s personal life. Consumer competence combines all the skills, habits, knowledge and attitudes needed to handle most situations consumers meet in their daily lives.
Cross-curricular themes:
There are aims which are common to several of the educational themes. We call these cross-curricular themes. Cross-curricular themes represent central aspects of education and teaching. Their objectives and contents are first incorporated into four fields of consumer education and into numerous subjects; they help integrate education and learning.
”Home management and participation” is a field relating to the practical activities of the consumers within their own operating environment. But values and skills also need to be imparted here. The three other fields, on the other hand, tend to be knowledge-based. All four fields overlap with each other and each field supports learning in each of the other fields.
Four fields of consumer education:
Living in a media home Home, consumption and ways of spending time among young adults, Survey 2010 The study aims to identify the key activities and priorities of the households of consumers who are young adults.The study is based on a survey of young adults aged 25-30 to determine what they do at home, how they spend their money and time and what skills they consider themselves to need to manage in daily life. This can contributeto a better understanding of the activities and priorities of the homes and households where the next generation of children will grow up in and the life management skills needed.