Educating Tomorrow’s Consumers Today

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Educating tomorrows

consumers todayAn introduction to consumer education


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Educating tomorrows

consumers today

An introduction to consumer education

Office for Developed and Transition Economies

Christine Knights


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Educating tom orrows consumers today

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Acknowledgements

Consumers International would like to

thank its member organisations who

were part of the project team:

Polish Consumers Federation, Poland

Association of Slovak Consumers,

Slovakia

National Association for Consumer

Protection, Hungary

Confederacion de Consumidores

y Usarios (CECU), Spain

We would also like to thank Grada

Hellman-Tuitert for her contribution to

this project and Juliet Wells of the UK

Consumers Association for permission to

use her definition of consumer education.

Written and researched by:

Christine Knights, Consum ers International

Designed and produced by

Steve Paveley Design

Copyright Consumers International

Septem ber 2000

ISBN 19023 91 26 2

The views expressed in this document are th ose of individu al experts and do n ot represent

the views of the European Comm ission and th e Phare Programme.

This pu blication is also available in Polish an d Slovak.


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Contents

Foreword 5

What is consumer education? 6

Consumer education workshop:

Teachers manual Advertising in our everyday life 7

A standard programme for the introduction of consumer

education in schools in Central and Eastern Europe 26

APPENDIX I

Consumer education in Central and

Eastern Europe 35

APPENDIX IIAn overview of consumer education in the EU 39

APPENDIX III

Consumer education materials published in Central

and Eastern Europe 42

APPENDIX IV

Other useful publications 44

APPENDIX V

List of use ful webs ites 45

Contents


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Educating tomorrow s consumers today

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Foreword

Foreword

Consumer organisations and government

departments responsible for consumer

protection throughout Central and Eastern

Europe (CEE) emphasise the importance

of introducing consumer education in

schools. With a few notable exceptions

however this has not yet been possible.

Although consumer education is a legal

obligation in some countries, there is little

consumer education material designed

for this region and few teacher-training

institutes include consumer education

on their syllabus.

This publication aims to provide educators in

CEE with a samp le workshop to introduceconsum er edu cation via the theme of adver-

tising. We present here step -by-step teachers

guid es to advertising workshop s for 12-14year

olds, and 16-17 year olds. The w orkshop s were

designed specifically for use in CEE by the

Polish Consum ers Federation and were based

on research in schools and collaboration with

teachers in Poland . Trials of the w orkshop s

were also held in Hu ngarian schools by the

Nat ional Association for Consum er Protection

in H ungary. The them e of advertising w as

chosen following a survey amongst PHARE

country consumer representatives. At a very

early age children are bombarded with

advertising, and need the skills and

knowledge to und erstand wh at is involved.

The approach based on stud ents playing the

role of adv ertising executives was found to be

very attractive to teachers and pupils alike.

We also includ e a p roposal for a CEE regionalconsum er education program me wr itten by

the Association of Slovak Consum ers based

on the Nordic Proposal of objectives for and

content of consumer ed ucation at compulsory

school and upper secondary school level in the

Nordic countries. This aims to guide those

responsible for curriculum development as to

the themes of consumer edu cation. Each country

will have its own p riorities but can consider

adapting this programme to suit its needs.

Finally this pu blication aims to provide

background for those interested in taking

consumer education further, including a

summ ary of the developm ent of consumer

edu cation in PHARE coun tries, an overv iew

of consum er edu cation activities in the EU,

recomm ended reading and useful websites.

The project team consisted of the PolishConsumers Federation, the Association of Slovak

Consumers, the N ational A ssociation for

Consumer Protection in Hungary, Confederacion

de Consumidores y Usuarios (CECU) of Spain

and the Office for Developed and Transition

Economies, Consumers In ternational.

We would like to thank Juliet Wells of the UK

Consumers Association for permission to use her

definit ion of consumer education. We also thank

Grada Hellman-Tuitert for her contribut ion to this

project, and we recommend readers use this booklet

in conjunction with her publication Promoting

consumer education in Schools.

Christine Knights

Office for Developed and Transition Economies

Consumers International

May 2000


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Consumer education is concerned with the

skills, attitudes, knowledge and under-

standing required for living in a consumer

society. It helps individuals to understand

their role in the market place, gives them a

broader view of the economic system and

an understanding of the needs both of

themselves and others. It aims to develop

an awareness of the rights and responsibil-

ities of consumers, the influences affecting

consumer decisions and the wider

implications of those decisions.

Everyone is a consumer. From a very early age

children h ave mon ey to spend , a choice of

wh ere and w hat to spend it on. They influencetheir parents to spend m oney in particular

ways or at particular places. Being a consumer

is a lifelong role, as we grow u p ou r consum er

decisions become w ider, more imp ortant an d

they also change. A young consumer has

many different needs to those of an elderly

consumer. Children as consum ers are und er

immense p ressure, manu facturers compete for

their custom, advertisers seek to influence

their spending. Consum er edu cation also helps

people to und erstand the relationship between

those who sup ply and produ ce and those who

buy an d u se. In add ition, it helps the n ational

economy; if dom estic consum ers dem and safe,

reliable, quality products at fair prices, then

the w hole economy benefits.Juliet Wells,

Consumer Education Officer, UK Consumers

Association.

Governments should d evelop or encourage the

development of general consumer edu cationand information programmes Consumer

edu cation should , where approp riate, become

an integral part of the basic curriculum of the

edu cational system, preferably as a comp onent

of existing subjects....Consum er education an d

information programm es shou ld cover such

importan t aspects of consumer p rotection as

the following: a) health, nutrition, prevention

of food-borne d iseases and food ad ulteration;

b) prod uct hazard s; c) prod uct labelling;

d) relevant legislation, how to obtain redress,

and agencies and organisations for consumer

protection; e) information on weights and

measu res, prices, qu ality, cred it conditions

and availability of basic necessities; and f)

as appropriate, pollution and environment.

United Nations Guidelines for Consumer

Protection, 1986.

In order to prom ote the interests of consum ersand to ensure a h igh level of protection, the

commu nity shall contribute to protecting

health, safety and economic interests of

consumers, as well as to promoting th eir right

to information, education and to organise

themselves in ord er to safeguard th eir

interests.Article 153, European Community

Treaty of Amsterdam, 1997.

What is consumer education?


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Consumer ed ucation workshop : Teachers manual Advertising in our everyday life

IntroductionEvery day on you r way to w ork you pass

colourful advertisements in the street; you

might have heard on commercial radio that the

weather forecast w as sponsored by a certain

company; you could have found a pile of

colourful leaflets in you r m orning new spaper

and another one of the same size waiting

behind you r d oor. Not to mention TV wh ere

you can see advertisements before and after

the weather forecast, before the movie and alsoin the mid dle of its top action. Yes, we got so

used to ad vertisements that sometimes we

hard ly notice them in our everyday life; we

watch and listen, or just automatically switch

to another TV chann el and th row aw ay leaflets

from newspap ers. Usually we do not analyse

their form or content. When asked by a

researcher w hether advertising influences

our shop ping habits, we ind ignantly reply

of course not. According to opinion polls,

in Poland a great majority of people wou ld

answer th is way. Why then can a short

comm ercial spot increase sales of practically

every single produ ct? What is m ore, most

people are convinced that it was th eir own

decision to bu y a new brand of coffee, hand

cream, car, washing machine, soap p owd er,

juice etc. Good advertisemen t can be just

excellent and it knows us even better

than ou r best friend d oes.

Lets imagine the following situation: it has

been another long day, you are bu sy and

alert. Suddenly somebody asks Are you not

hungry? You m ight not have been until now

but u nexpectedly you feel some p ain in your

stomach. Yes, you are as h un gry as a wolf.

There was no need an d n ow it is sudd enly

there. Somebody h as reminded u s about our

needs, which we would like to satisfy because

now we remem ber that we actually are hun gry.

It may also happ en that you d o not feel hungry

so there is no need to eat something. However,

your concerned interlocutor thinks that you

shou ld feel this need because it is unhealthy to

stay without food d uring the day as hard w ork

is exhausting and you shou ld provide yourbody w ith new energy and vitamins. You w ill

find some of those arguments even more

appealing if they relate to your own set of

values and beliefs. If you consider health very

imp ortant, there is a big chance you will be

proactive and have a m eal even though you

were not hungry. Originally there was no need

someone from outside has created it.

This story is a simplified example of how the

advertising mechanism w orks. One should

notice, however, that in this particular case,

having a m eal should meet our d esire to be

healthy instead of satisfying h ung er (even

though this is the pr imary function of a meal).

It happ ens very often that th e advertised

prod uct is only an excuse to get comp letely

d ifferent benefits. It is not really a juice that

we are buying but h ealth w hich w e want to

improve by d rinking it. We pu rchase white

teeth with a toothpaste; elegance and life stylewith a fashionable jacket. The same applies to

the teenage subculture, where specific clothing

may ind icate the group on e belongs to and th e

ph ilosophy one relates to.

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Consumer education workshop:Teachers manualAdvertising in our everyday lifeby the Polish Consum ers Federation


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The task of an advertising agency is to

develop such knowledge about consum ers so

that it can persuade them that he/ she actually

needs certain things. If one wants to sell

something, one shou ld clearly d efine the

potential target group of customers. Und er-

standing that n o prod uct can be equally good

and equally desired by all customers is a key

to successful ad vertising. It has to be an

appropriate product and a good ad vert-

isement directed toward s a sp ecific potential

customer, which does not necessarily mean

the one who has already specified his/ her

desires and ways of satisfying them. A really

creative advertisement is the one that is able

to change peoples old habits and desires as

well as create and d evelop n ew ones.

Developm ent of a new ad vertising camp aign

takes a lot of mon ey. Due to the simple fact

that company profit depends hugely on the

camp aign effectiveness, the whole process is

very elaborate and looks like this:

1M MISSION setting advertisement

objectives

2M MARKET defining target aud ience

3M MONEY preparing budget

4M MESSAGE inventing theadvertisements content

5M MEDIA choosing m edia

6M MEASUREMENT researching the

advertisements effectiveness.

In our edu cational workshops w e decided

to focus on objectives, target aud iences and

advertising in order to allow us to an alyse

advertising from the viewpoint of an edu cated

and aware consumer.

To make things simp le one can say that each

advertisement a ims to increase sales of given

prod ucts or services. However, there is a huge

difference between an ad introducing a

comp letely new p roduct to the market and on e

that is supposed to take aw ay competitor s

clients. For example, a specific advertisemen t

may aim to:

inform potential clients about the comp anyand its services,

promote a new solution,

transform p eople who like novelties

into clients,

strengthen clients loyalty,

react to competitor s advertising camp aign,

inform clients about prod uct improvements,

persuad e new clients that this produ ct may

satisfy their need s, etc.

The next stage (2M) is strictly connected with

market segmentation. In brief: very rich

people w ill buy a very expensive limou sine

while a 15-year-old boy is a potential

snowboard owner. Market segmentation

means simp ly that homogenous groups

(segments) of potential buyers can be

identified on the m arket. The criteria m ost

often used to define the groups are: age, sex,

income, preferences, and profession. Each

group has its specific needs, reads different

newsp apers and watches TV during d ifferent

times of the day. If the market segment is

correctly identified by the advertising agency,

it is easier to choose both the m edium (people

with p rimary school education are more likely

to watch TV than read a newsp aper) and

message of an advertisement (people of

higher income expect to be offered luxurious

and prestige products while people with

lower salaries are m ore likely to be interested

in qua lity, special offer, price or attractive

purchasing conditions). Surveys define clearlythe p references of specific target grou ps. Such

know ledge enables ad-makers to bring

attention to those p rodu ct features or qu alities

wh ich are most desired by a given group.

Everybody know s that the main task of a

shamp oo is to wash ones hair. In other word s,

you need a sham poo wh en your hair is dirty.

But lets think: has anybod y ever seen an ad

saying Your hair is d irty buy our

shampoo! Of course not, as advertisements

tend to prom ise something else: natur al shine,

no d and ruff, hair conditioning, healthy ends,

everyday wash. This is not a p ure coincidence

because all surveys show that this is exactly

wh at we expect of a shamp oo. Advertisers

make good u se of their awareness that various

target groups also set different priorities

(a teenager wan ts a shampoo for everyday

use wh ile an adu lt woman is more interested

in a produ ct giving a healthy look and shine

to her h air).

Another interesting M on our list means the

message, wh ich is supp osed to make peop le

buy thing s. This is easy to achieve in a


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have very limited ability to verify the

credibility of w hat they have seen. Their

imagination is the m ain source of their

associations and connotations. This lack of

know ledge and necessary life experience may

lead to va rious complexes related to the feeling

of rejection by the group. Many conflicts and

tensions may result from, for examp le, families

different financial situation and, therefore,

different pu rchasing p owers. As it was said

before, there is no escape from advertising an d

that is why children and teenagers should learn

to develop som e critical thinking on th at

subject. Given some practical know ledge abou t

the mechanism of advertising, they should be

able to avoid passive obedience to promoted

patterns and behaviours (e.g. chocolate bar

instead of a sandw ich).

That was our m ain goal du ring the

prepar ation of these educational workshops.

We tried to show w ithout u nnecessary

did acticism h ow an advertising message is

created and how m uch the ad-makers know

about u s. We want neither to dismiss nor to

glorify advertising too much. We only think

that getting to know ad s from behind the

curtains is the best way to learn how to k eep

some d istance. Then it is easier to un derstandwh y the teenager from th e TV commercial

says Be cool, drink XXXX.

Teachers guidelinesworkshop for 12-14 yearold children

(approximate length: one hour )

Objectives of the workshop:

Create an awareness of how

advertising works;

Gain skills to analyse advertising;

Understanding of methods used by

advertising to influence consum ers;

Analyse how w e make choices and h ow

advertising influences this process;

Analyse the imp act of over-consump tion.

How to create an advertisement?

1. A teacher brings four juice contain ers to the

classroom in such a w ay that the original

covers w ont be visible. There is a w ord

juice written w ith a marker on each

container. Afterwards the class is divided into

four group s. The mom ent each group is given

a juice container, the kid s stop being

schoolgirls or schoolboys an d begin their life

as the advertising agency employees. Each

group is a separate ad vertising agency that

has been given the task of prep aring a juice

advertisemen t. The teacher, in the role of juice

prod ucer, asks them to w rite an advertising

slogan w hich w ould be app ropriate for the

juice, and w hich might be used in the future

during the advertising campaign.

2. The teacher (juice prod ucer) does not

hide that his main concern is to increase

sales, thus he w rites down on the blackboard

the general assump tions that should be

taken into accoun t by the p rofessional

employees of the advertising agency. This

should be seen just as ad ditional help, and

not as compu lsory cond itions or ru les of

the workshop.

A (attention) to draw ones attention to it,

I (interest) to arouse interest,

D (desire) to evoke desire,

A (action) to persuad e somebody to buy.

The pupils recognise the basic model in

accordance with wh ich ad vertisements are

created: AIDA. It is suggested a lso, that the

teacher gives a short explanation of this

formula (see Introduction).

3. Now, each group may begin its job.

How ever, so the task is not too easy, the

teacher (prod ucer) orders each grou p to

prepare an advert for a different add ressee. In

other w ords, the teacher intends that th e juice

be bough t by different peop le. Thats why the

first group is to address its advert to a moth er

with a baby. 2nd group to a fifteen-year-old

boy, keen on sport, 3rd group to a young

hard w orking m an, 4th group to an elderly

person, an old-aged p ensioner for example.

If the classmates in on e group disagree or if

they are u nable to choose the best advertising

slogan, the teacher (i.e. the producer) mayallow them to prepare tw o or even three

advertising slogans.


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4. While the pu pils work in grou ps, the teacher

writes down on the blackboard: (above)

In each of the above column s, there should be

a space left for future notes and suggestions

from each group .

5. The teacher asks a p erson from each of the

agencies (groups), to present its advertising

slogans. He w rites the slogans dow n on th e

blackboard in the app ropriate column .

6. Then the task for all the class (with a little

help from the teacher) is to analyse the

slogans. For th e pu rp ose of the exercise the

most interesting is to answer the qu estions:

What features were ascribed to the product (ju ice)

in each slogan? Did the pupils appeal to the

health, excellence, taste, low price of the product,

or had they other ideas? The teacher p oints

out the features of the product and writesthem d own in the approp riate columns.

In order to m ake the task easier, examp les

developed du ring workshop trials are

listed below.

7. The following stage is attributed principally

to the teacher. The teacher s task is to show

that the qualities the pup ils ascribe to the

prod uct, in reality appeal to the specific needs

of the advertisements target group. The most

impor tant for a mother is to satisfy the needs of

her child, maintain its health, smile and good

growth . A fifteen-year-old boy probably cares

for his physical growth , which requires not

only training bu t also suitable food.

He w ould like to become the best in his

discipline. A young, hard working man needs

a lot of energy, und oubted ly hasnt got any

time either for a good d iet or for leisure.

Whats importan t is his ph ysical structure and

psychological disposition but as a m eans for

his p rofessional success. An old-aged pensioner

has got m ore time to care for his health;

moreover its likely that he w ould look for

produ cts wh ich keep you you ng.Thats the

way real advertisements are created. The most

important question to answer is: What benefits

may the advertised products give to the client?

Usually a consumer d oes not buy prod ucts

for the prod uct itself but in ord er to satisfy a

specific need. A shamp oo when in need of

beautiful, shiny and healthy hair. Washing

powder for white and clean sheets and

covers. How ever, if the message of the ad vert

says: modern w omen use this washingpowder, a stimu lus to buy one is the

conviction, that due to the washing powder

one would become a modern w oman.

8. The teacher asks the children to unpack the

juices. He dr aws th e pu pils attention to the

fact that all the juices were identical products,

how ever, the features attributed to them in the

advertisements w ere d ifferent.

Analysis of press advertisements

1. We suggest finishing the classes by showing

the p up ils that the exercise on juice advertising

Juices

For a mother with For a fifteen year old For a young hard For an elderly person,

a baby boy keen on sports working man a pensioner

Juices

For a mother with For a fifteen year For a young hard For an elderly

a baby old boy keen working man person, a

on sports pensioner

Slogan: Healthy; It contains Gives a lot of Healthy; Rich in

Qualities of the Safe for a child; vitamins; energy; vitamins, with a

product Rich in vitamins; Helps to extend Stress-reducing. pinch of Ginseng;

Made of fresh fruit. your fitness. Good for memory.


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was not completely abstract or far from reality.

To do this, the teacher should collect advertise-

ments from colour m agazines, such as for juice,

energisers, coffee, tea, milk, mineral w ater. We

suggest looking throu gh teenagers, womens

and mothers magazines. In order to facilitate

your work, well use the examples found

during preparation of this workshop. The

advertising m arket, however, is a dynam ic one

and thus it may tu rn out that the comm ercials

discussed should be used only as a guide to

help in carrying out ones own analysis.

2. The teacher divides the class into as many

groups as needed, depending on how many

advertisements he has collected (how ever a

group should not consist of more than 5 or 6

people). Each group is given a different

advertisement. Each grou p is to analyse an

advertisement ind ependently and to answer

the qu estions:

Who is the sp ecific advertisement aimed at?

Describe the addressee, has he/ she got any

specific characteristics wh ich make him

different (for example: is he young, old,

well-off, has he got children, etc.)?

Does the advert ap peal to any sp ecific

needs of the target ad dressee?

The teacher should draw the pupils

attention to the fact that this is a press

advertisement so that the text message is

very importan t but not the only means of

conveying the message. Some grou ps m ay

focus on the d esign of the ad vertisement:

it may be d ynam ic or static, modern and

abstract or conservative; or include

ph otographs of people (children, young

peop le, the elderly). All those characteristics

were used by the ad p rodu cer meaningfully

and serve particular pur poses (as when a

man d ressed in a white gown wh o presents

himself as a dentist is included to convince

us to buy a specific toothpaste).

3. After a few minutes discussion the teacher

asks representatives of the group s to p resent

their conclusions. The task of the teacher is to

complete the ideas of the specific groups andto ind icate tha t the key to creating an effective

advertisement is to und erstand that non e of

the prod ucts may be desired to the same

extent by every bu yer. The one w ho w ants to

sell mu st know precisely w ho he sh ould offer

his produ ct to in order to measure how to

do it, what elements he should u se in the

advertisement in order to indu ce new

expectations and in order to offer par ticular

benefits arising from p ossession of a new

prod uct. In other words, he must know

exactly the market segm ent (the target group)

he creates the ad vertisemen t for. Very

expensive products (specified for customers

of very high income) may be ad vertised by

emp hasising luxury an d very h igh quality.

Cheap prod ucts are advertised in another

way, for instance by pointing out a special

price (aimed at customers w ith lower income).

Whats more, customers of high income

usually read d ifferent m agazines and spen d

their free time differently, and this should also

be considered w hen choosing the media in

which the advert should be placed. Similarly,

it is possible to find d ifferences between

group s of purchasers chosen by m eans of

sex, age, consumer habits, place of habitual

residence, etc.

Sample analysis of pressadvertisements for drinks

ISOSTAR

The advertisement

What do amateurs and sportsmen have in

common? Training and results? Tiredness and

satisfaction? ISOSTAR . W hile you practice

sport you are getting tired. You burn your

carbohydrates and you lose water and electrolytes

together with it. You have no power and

determination to fight on without them nor

enough strength to make progress and have better

results. Therefore its worth drinking ISOS TAR.

Before an effort because y ou accum ulate

energy, during it because you regenerate it

and after the effort in order to recover faster.

ISOSTAR contains everything that you need

durin g physical exercises. Your organism absorbs

it faster than water, juice or carbonated drinks.

Thanks to it y ou may run longer distances and

play better. The only thing bett er than ISOS TAR

are two ISOSTA RS , and bett er than that are only

three of them before, during and after an effort.Sportsmen call it: Power drink, and everybody

says the same.

ISOSTAR POWER DRINK, EVERYT IME

YOU ARE ACTIVE.


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The analysis

The add ressee of the ad vert: active person,

practising sport, wom an and man (photo).

Graph ics: dyn amic, the photo suggests that it

was mad e du ring a very fast run. Both photo

(ISOSTAR in front of the au dience of the

stadium) and text (what d o amateurs and

sportsmen have in common) suggest that

even an amateu r m ay take care of himself, just

like a professional, by drinking ISOSTAR. The

advertisement refers to a need to replenish

water an d electrolytes du ring big effort so that

nobody wou ld even think that he might drink

an orange juice instead. The advert u nd erlines

that: ISOSTAR contains everything that you

need when you exercise. It is absorbed faster

than w ater, juice or carbonated d rinks. Thanks

to it you may run longer distances and

play better.

HORTEX JUICES

The advertisement

To crunch or to drink? To live! Live life to the

full. To squeeze up and to press out every day to

the limit! Crunch to the bottom vegetables and

fruit juices. And to be healthy, to explode with

energy, with good mood, with shine and colour,

and w ith cont rast. Lit tle Vitamin is a naturalinjection of vitamins and minerals. Lots of

enthusiasm for the whole day. You ask

to drink or to crunch? Live! Do not waste

your time on crunching!

The analysis

The add ressee of the adv ert: young person,

full of energy (p hoto), active, living life to th e

full (text), usually having no time for a good

diet and eating vegetables (live, do not waste

time on crunching), and also people wanting

to be treated as such (smiling, pleased with

oneself and hap py w ith life).

The advertisement refers to a n eed to be

healthy, happ y, satisfied, pretty, and in good

physical and mental condition.

TEDDY BEAR JUICE

The advertisementTeddy Bear Juice

The best fruit. No p reservatives. Full of

nutr itional comp onents. Here you are! Teddy

Bear Juices have come straight from Hortex

Forest, theres no need to pu sh your little baby

to d rink th em. Tedd y Bear Juices are jolly good

fun in jolly good company. Im not alone,

mu mm y, when youre not with me.

The analysis

The ad dressee: moth er of a baby. Grap hics

and italics used: a little bit infantile, referring

to baby language, mum reads a text designed

app arently for her, not for her little child.

The text is styled as a fairy tale, so it gives

an im pression of being accepted by her child

as well, her positive associations will be

transferred to the product itself (juice). The

adv ert refers to a need to g ive all the best

to a child (best fruit), healthy (a set of

nutritional components) and n atural

(no preservatives).

Discussion

It is difficult for both youn g and adu lt people

to stay indifferent tow ards the w orld of

advertisements. Some like it because streets

and magazines full of adverts look more

colourful and cheerful; and th ey provide

easier access to information about new

prod ucts on the mar ket (even if one does not

look for it). For others advertisements maybe irritating, especially w hen th ey app ear in

the mid dle of an interesting TV program me.

Thats why we suggest a short d iscussion

at the end of our workshop wh ich w ould

sum marise the workshop topics and

general knowledge, stud ents opinions and

subjective feelings towards advertisements.

Stud ents are asked to answer th e

following questions:

a. Do you like ads?

b. What kind of elements of advertising

do you like and p refer?

c. What is the role of advertisements in

your opinion?

d. Do you notice ads that appeal to the

specific needs of young people?

e. Is there any difference (if yes, then w hy)

between youth ads and adult ad s

(word s, gestures, clothes, actor s image,

sound , action)?f. How d o you respond to such advertising

tricks (interesting, irritating, flattering)?

g. Does advertising give all the truth abou t

the produ ct?

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14

h. Is this workshop about to change your

perception of advertisements?

i. What are other sources of information

about p roducts?

j. How do we and how should we make

choices of products we buy? ie discussion

of needs as opp osed to w ants, consideration

of available money.

k. Does advertising lead to over-consump tion

in their view?

Teachers guidelinesworkshop for 16-18 yearold children

(approximate length: one hour )

Objectives of the workshop:

Create an awareness of how

advertising works;

Gain skills to analyse advertising;

Understanding of methods used by

advertising to influence consum ers;

Analyse how w e make choices and h ow

advertising influences this process;

Analyse the imp act of over-consump tion.

How to create an advertisement?

1. A tutor divides the class into six groups.

Their task is to make a simplified plan for an

advertising camp aign for various prod ucts.

In order to facilitate this task and to give the

procedure a more p rofessional natu re, as it

is practised in a real advertising agency, the

teacher shall lead his stud ents through the

stages of creating an advertising message.

At the beginning the stud ents are informed

that they w ill be the emp loyees of an

advertising agency, and that a very

demanding, but well-off client has come to

ask the agency to provide an ad vertising

campaign for his produ cts.

Each of the agencies (group s) is assigned

the following p rodu cts:

a vitamin mixture

a nail po lish an energising d rink

a car

a pa ir of jeans

a personal compu ter (a PC).

2. The teacher wr ites down on a blackboard

the stages of creating an ad vertisement

(the so called 6M of advertisemen t):

1M MISSION; that is choosing the

advertisements aims;

2M MARKET; who w ill an ad vert be

addressed to;

3M MON EY; establishing the bud get

for an advert;

4M MESSAGE; choosing th e conten ts

of the advertisement;

5M MEDIA; choosing the means of

transmission (med ia);

6M MEASUREMENT, researching the

advertisements effectiveness.

During the w orkshop w e will concentrate

only on certain stages of the creation process

most relevant to our w orkshop s objectives.

Particularly interesting for us shall be

identifying th e target of the ad vertisement

and the contents of an ad vert defined for

this target. Nevertheless it wou ld be u seful,

in our opinion, to show the stud ents that

the outcome, wh ich one can observe on

billboards, on TV or in magazines and

newspapers is the result of professionals

teamw ork based on m arket research,accumulated knowledge and know-how.

The stages we are interested in (ie the Ms

from the list above) are given to the group s.

These are general assump tions, which

should be followed wh ile preparing the

advertisements, and which would be

identified d uring discussion w ith a client.

The teacher s task is to photocopy the list of

assump tions (or to prep are manu al copies on

separate sheets of pap er) and hand them over

to particular groups. In order to m ake copying

easier, please find the d escription of the

specific Ms printed on th e separate p ages

which follow. Preparation will only require

ph otocopying these pages and th en cutting

the copies to make separate slips of paper.

3. The teacher distributes the ap prop riate

sheets of pap er to the group s.

A vitamin mixture1M (MISSION)

A vitamin m ixture has been ad vertised so far

as a product delaying the effects of getting

older, one being good for mem ory, and it


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was show n as used by elderly people. The

aim your client wants to achieve is to increase

the num ber of people buying the mixture,

by convincing a new group of customers

(ie youn g p eople), that the prod uct offered

fulfils their need s as well.

2M (MARKET)

A tw enty-year old girl, who cares for her

app earance, wan ts to be attractive and pretty.

4M (MESSAGE)

The client intends the message of the

advertisement to stimulate the need to buy

the mixture amon gst young girls, so he counts

on you identifying th ose qualities of the

prod uct wh ich w ould be interesting for

that target group.

A nail polish

1M (MISSION)

This is a new prod uct from a n ew p rodu cer

not know n on th e market yet. The aim of the

advertisement is to take over other comp anies

clients and convince them to pu rchase a new

nail polish.

2M (MARKET)

A new nail polish is quite expensive, probablywon t be bought by any consum er of low

earnings. Your client su ggests therefore that

the advert m essage should be aimed at a

well-paid businesswoman, w ho cares more

for quality than for the p rice of goods.

4M (MESSAGE)

Your client expects that you will choose the

qualities which will make the prod uct

interesting for an attractive, cared for,

professionally active woman with a high

financial status.

An energising drink

1M (MISSION)

This is a well-established product, which sells

well, but th e competitors wont sleep. Thats

wh y your client intends to inform consum ers

about the changes and improvem ents in

his product.

2M (MARKET)

The research m ade by your client shows that

his produ ct is bought m ost often by young

people actively practising sport (they are keen

on jogging, bicycle riding, skating, fond of

swimm ing, playing basketball) and the adver-

tising message should be aimed at this group.

4M (MESSAGE)

Your client has introd uced a new container

for his product. The container has got a better,

more interesting shape, it is more practical

and han dy. Your task is to convin ce a young

sportsman that it meets his requirements.

A car

1M (MISSION)

Your clients intention is to gain a new client

group . His cars have been pu rchased as a

family veh icle so far (capacity, safety and

comfort of the cars were h ighlighted).

2M (MARKET)

Your client imagines that fu ture adver tising

should be aimed at wom en living in a big

city, having both a p rofessional career, and

household duties.

4M (MESSAGE)

Your client believes that you will find a way

to show a new grou p of purchasers the

advan tages and benefits arising from bu ying

this particular model of car.

A pair of jeans

1M (MISSION)

It is know n that th e young always willingly

buy jeans. However, the aim of your client

is to convince a comp letely new grou p of

consumers to bu y jeans.

2M (MARKET)

The target group of the adv ert is to be

pensioners who like active forms of leisure.

4M (MESSAGE)

Your client expects you to convince a grou p of

pensioners that jeans are really useful because

of their looks and comfort.

A PC

1M (MISSION)

Right from the beginning you r client p ointed

out that the personal comp uters he prod ucesare highly sp ecialised equipm ent, most often

bought for office purposes. As a result of the

advertising campaign h e intends to increase

sales among private u sers.

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16

2M (MARKET)

He intend s the target group of the

advertisement to be p arents of ten-year-old

comp uter gam es fanatics. Your client expects

that by u sing the image of a child he w ill be

able to convince the parents to buy.

4M (MESSAGE)

Your task is to create an ad vertising m essage

convincing parents th at their child wan ts to

have a PC and that in fact he/ she should

have one.

4. The students w ork in group s. As soon as

they find ou t the clients requirements they

write dow n several qualities of the prod uct,

wh ich in their opinion shou ld form the basis

of the advertising campaign. Afterward s they

invent an advertising slogan; it may consist

of one expression or severa l sentences, either

possibility d epend s only on their creativity

and imagination. While the stud ents work,

the teacher wr ites dow n on a blackboard th e

advertised p rodu cts, leaving blank space

un dern eath for the pu rpose of making notes.

5. When all of the groups finish, one person

from each group tells everybody th e slogans

and the ideas created. The teacher asks

him/ her to present:

the ad vertising concept;

the group of consumers the ad vert is aimed at;

the qualities of the products which seem

to be imp ortant.

The answers are written dow n in the

app ropriate column s. In order to make the

task easier, please read the answers given by

stud ents dur ing testing of this workshop.

6. The teacher d raws the students attention to

the fact that when making an ad vertisement

they app ealed to different groups of consumers,

wh ich the professionals call different market

segments. The teacher asks students to

reconsider together the qualities of the p rodu cts

that had been pu t down on the blackboard. The

teacher suggests thinking over w hich needs of

the d ifferent target groups they referred to

while making an advertising message.

The teacher w rites down on the blackboard

in the approp riate column s the ideas pu t

forward by the stud ents. Below p lease find

again the ideas which came u p d uring trials

of the workshop .

Products

Advertisement addressee

vitamin

mixture

nail polish energising

drink

car pair of jeans PC

20-year-old girl business-

woman

young person

keen on sport

women living in

a big city,

working

professionally,and running a

household

active

pensioners

parents

-good for

complexion;

-includes special

vitamin mixture;

-improves your

appearance;

-improves your

fitness; -helpsin studying.

-elegant;

-dries fast;

-super quality;

-firm and

durable, not

wearing off;

-good for nails,

containsvitamins.

-new handy

bottle; -you may

fix it to a bicycle;

-handy container;

-special holder

fixes it to your

trouser belt;

-thermo-insulating

wrapping, keeps

it cool for a long

time.

-safe; -it wont

break down;

-comfortable,

easy to use;

-automatic gear-

box; -perfect for

parking; -elegant

to the office,comfortable for

shopping.

-comfortable;

- they make you

feel young;

-special cut;

-easy to wash.

-safe, no harmful

radiation at all;

-special screen

protection for

your eyes;

-it switches off

automatically

when a kid playstoo long.

Qualities of products


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Analysis of press advertisements

1. As a sum mary of this stage we su ggest that

stud ents analyse together ad vertisements

from various magazines. In this way th e

stud ents are able to observe that the previous

exercises were not on ly theoretical but

actually seen in advertising messages. The

auth or of the advertisement has been given

the task of discovering the clients needs and

adap ting the idea of the advert to them . We

suggest that you find p ress advertisements

based on different needs, and therefore aimed

at different readers.

The stud ents work in groups again (the

num ber of which depends on the nu mber

of advertisements collected). Each group is

given a different advert to analyse. Their taskis to find th e answer to th e questions:

Who is an adv ert add ressed to?

What needs is an advert based on?

If it p roves necessary, the teacher m ay actively

participate in the w ork of particular groups.

Let us remind you that this is a press

advertisement, so that not on ly text but also

graphics, colour, dynamics of the message are

importan t. In order to m ake your w ork easier

please find sample analysis of three

advertisements below.

Sample analysis of pressadvertisements

GINSANA

The advertisement

Do you know that you can replenish yourenergy reserves? Energy beyond the usual level.

GINSANA provides you with additional

energy, so that:

your fitness improves and it makes your

body stronger;

it accelerates recovery after effort;

it strengthens your immune system.

GINSANA is obtained naturally, and contains

extract of highest quality white ginseng roots.

The mixt ure allows easier absorption of oxygen

by organic cells, which releases additional energy.

Its effectiveness has been proven by clinical

research carried out over the last 32 years.

The analysis

The target group of the advertisement: the

picture show s that these are both young, and

midd le-aged people; wom en and m en;

dynamic so most likely active. The text refersto a need to care for ones physical cond ition,

to be healthy, and most of all energetic (wh ich

means active, young and healthy).

PERSIL GREEN POWER

The advertisement

Persil Green Power. Certainty of removing stains

and bacteria.

M aria Jakubiak paediatrician, mother of little

Just ine (9 years old), M alwinka (7 years old),

Magda (4 years old) and of litt le Caroline (1 year

old).Bacteria and other microbes are omnipresent

in our everyday life. Sometimes, however,

infecting our organism through the damaged

lipoid-coat of our skin, they m ay cause serious

infections. Thats why keeping y our house clean is

so important. And in particular, the choice of a

good washing-powder with anti-bacterial action

is essential.

The analysis

Target group of the advert: a wom an, a

mother. The text app eals to the need to

To be pretty

and attractive;

To have a nice

complexion and

healthy-looking

skin.

To be elegant; To

have healthy,

beautiful nails;

Not to waste too

much time.

Comfort; Access

to an always-

cool drink.

Comfort; Multi-

functional; Does

not need

repairing; To be

self-reliant.

Comfort; To feel

young.

Care about

safety and health

of ones child.

Needs


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18

provide h ealth and safety within the family

(as well as among children), through

maintaining perfect cleanliness thanks to an

anti-bacterial washing powder. To be a wise,

conscientious, highly ed ucated mother

just like the d octor (ie an au thor ity) from

the p icture.

CREDIT CARD

The advertisement

Join the elite!

No matter where you are and what you need you

may count on the one credit card Diners Club. In

175 countries in the world, 7 days a week, 24 hours

a day, Diners Club provides you with access to

special privileges. It satisfies all your financial

needs. In a hotel, in a restaurant, in a shop

Diners Club card assures full solvency, security

insurance and service all around the World. Diners

Club means affiliation with the worlds elite for

which comfort and prestige play an important role.

The analysis

An ad s target group : a person travelling

around the world a lot, wh ich suggests that

it is a businessman, often u sing hotels and

restaurants.

The text refers to the n eed to be a m ember of

a particular social group; to the elite (which

mean s the financial elite), for wh ich comfort

and prestige are extremely importan t. This

aim m ay be achieved by carrying an

app ropriate credit card in ones wallet.

Market segmentation

1. The rep resentatives of individu al group s, as

soon as they finish, give a very brief report on

the results of their w ork. A task for the wh ole

class (teacher s help might be necessary) is to

point out w hether the advert in question goes

beyond in any w ay the basic fun ctions of the

particular prod uct and if so, whether it is

intended to stimulate any additional

consumers desires and/ or needs, which

after a th orough consideration seem to be

completely irrelevant to the product itself.Consider again the following examples:

The Ginsana adv ertisement refers to a n eed

to be vigorous, young, an d healthy.

Vigorous that is, being capable of taking u p

new challenges and duties as well. This is

in fact something m ore than a m ere

improvem ent of health.

The Green Power washing powder

advertisement is based on a need to be a

good, well-educated, conscientious mother.

In reality its primary target is to meet the

need to have clean clothes.

The Diners Club Card ad vert suggests that

thanks to having one you belong to the

elite, gain p restige and comfort. In reality

you gain only the p ossibility of paying your

bills with your card. Possession of a card

as such does not influence directly your

financial status, professional standing, nor

shall it make you travel the whole world

or sleep in top hotels, after all.

Discussion

It is difficult for both young and adu lt

people to stay ind ifferent to the w orld of

advertisements. Some like it because streets

and magazines full of adverts look more

colourful and cheerful; and th ey provide

easier access to information about newprod ucts on the mar ket (even if one does not

look for it). For others, advertisements may

be irritating, especially w hen they ap pear in

the mid dle of an interesting TV program me.

Thats why we su ggest a short discussion at

the end of our workshop . It could sum marise

the workshop top ics and general knowledge,

students opinions and subjective feelings

about ad vertisements. During that

conversation stud ents are asked to an swer

the following questions:

a. Do you like ads?

b. What kind of elements of advertising do

you like/ prefer?

c. Wh at is the role of advertisemen ts in

your opinion?

d. Do you notice ads that ap peal to the

specific needs of young people?

e. Is there any difference (if yes, then wh y)

between youth ads and adult ad s(word s, gestures, clothes, actor s image,

sound, action)?

f. How d o you respond to such advertising

tricks (interesting, irritating, flattering)?


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19

g. Does adv ertising give entirely the truth

about the produ ct?

h. Is this workshop abou t to change your

perception of ad vertisements?

i. What are other sources of informa tion

about products?

j. How do we and how should we make

choices of products we buy? ie discussion of

needs as opp osed to wan ts, consideration of

available mon ey.

k. Does adv ertising lead to over-consum ption

in their view?



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20

To crunch or to drink?

Live fully!

Squeeze the m ost out of each d ay!

Crunch to the last d rop of fruit an d vegetable Witaminka juices.

An d burst with vitality, fitness, energy, splendour, colour and contrast.

Witaminka is a natu ral source of vitamins and minerals.

Source of vitality for the whole day

You ask to drink or to crunch?

Live! Dont waste your time crunching!


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21


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22

Join the elite

Wherever you are and w hatever you need , you can count on just one card Diners Club. In 175

countries worldwide, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day Diners Club gives special privileges. It can live up

to all your financial expectations. In a hotel, restaurant or a store, a Diners Club card ensures full

financial credibility, insurance coverage and services all around the world. Diners Club means

mem bership of the w orld elite for w hom comfort and prestige are of special significance.


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24

Liquid power

What d o amateu r and professional sportsmen h ave in common ? Training and results? Tiredness and

satisfaction? Isostar. When you go in for spor t you get tired. You sp eed u p you r m etabolism, lose

water an d electrolytes. Without them you d ont have the pow er and eagerness to fight and achieve

better results. Drink Isostar. Before the training to boost energy, during the training because you need

energy and after training in order to regenerate faster.

Isostar gives you all you need while training. It is assimilated by your body faster than water, juice or

carbonated d rinks. With Isostar you can run longer and play better.

The only things better than one Isostar are two Isostars, and still better are three Isostars one before

training, one du ring training and one after training. Sportsmen call it liquid pow er, and everyone else

says the same.

Isostar liquid power whenever you re active.


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25


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26

This programme was developed by the

Association of Slovak Consumers (ASC)

during the period December 1998-

February 2000 within the context of the

European Commissions (EC) PHARE

Consumer Institutions and Consumer

Policy Programme (CICPP) II.

The main aim of the programm e is tohighlight the imp ortance of consum er

edu cation in the imp lementation of consum er

policy. Effective enforcement of consumer

legislation is supp orted by the introdu ction of

a program me of consumer edu cation. This is

particularly imp ortant in the countries of

Central and East Europe w here transition to

a m arket economy is taking p lace.

To achieve this aim we are here putting

forward su ggestions for a consum er edu cation

syllabus and the teaching aids w hich would

need to be developed to imp lement such a

syllabus. The next stage needed to introdu ce

consumer ed ucation is writing of educational

texts and the p rodu ction of teaching aids.

Teachers mu st be involved in this p rocess. The

method s to be used for consum er edu cation

will be those already developed for in-school

and extra-curricular activities.

The contents of the programm e are divided

into four pa rts. Firstly, we describe the steps

taken to p repare this program me. Section 2

gives the main contents of the program me.

Section 3 presents our suggestions for the

syllabus an d teaching aids covering the

themes of consumer education. Finally, we

describe the possibilities and conditions for

introducing a consumer education programme

in schools.

There is a teaching aid includ ed in th e present

pu blication ie the workshop on ad vertisingdeveloped by th e Polish Consumers

Federation, which is one example of how

materials can be designed following the

themes in this program me. The aim is to

develop a w hole range of such teaching aids

on each of the th emes d escribed here.

Our first objective in designing this

program me w as for it to be introdu ced in the

Slovak Republic. It is however importan t to

note that this is a standard program me. It

could also be introduced in and is appropr iate

for other Central Europ ean and East European

countries. It is relevant for countries where

there is transition to a m arket econom y as it

aims to increase the level of consu mer

consciousness.

The programme can be introduced through

various curriculum subjects or in an

ind ividu al subject called ConsumerEducation. ASC prefers the first var iant.

This programm e is based on the revised

Nord ic Programm e of Consum er Edu cation.

A standard programme for theintroduction of consumereducation in schools in Centraland Eastern Europe

by the Association of Slovak Consumers


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A standard p rogramm e for the introdu ction of consumer edu cation in schools in Central and Eastern Europe

27

Basic to preparation of theprogramme

The ASC mad e it a priority to introdu ce

consumer ed ucation in schools from th e very

beginn ing of its existence in Februa ry 1990.

This was a natu ral progression following th e

long tradition in Czechoslovakia of citizenship

edu cation for youn g peop le in schools at all

levels. Many members of ASC were

schoolteachers w orking at kind ergarten,

prim ary and secondar y levels.

The first step w as for teachers to get to know

more about the issues of consumer education

through pu blished teaching m aterials.

Teachers then became involved in actually

develop ing the specific themes for consumer

edu cation in Slovakia at professional meetings,

which included experts from other countries.

The interest of teachers created by the

pu blished teaching materials and encouraged

by these meetings w as clearly evident.

Subsequently consumer th emes were includ ed

in the syllabuses of primary and second ary

schools (in home economics, product testing,

ethics, environmen t, etc). At this stageconsumer ed ucation in second ary schools was

particularly emp hasised, how ever p ossibilities

were limited du e to financial constraints.

It is importan t to mention consum er edu cation

at university level, where financial constraints

are not so much in evidence. Consumer Policy,

Consumer Theory and Development have

been taugh t at the Faculty of Commerce,

University of Economics, since 1993. More

than 400 students stu died this subject there

in 1999. Consumer Policy is a very popular

subject for students final diploma projects.

Consum er issues are also included within the

timetables of other universities and colleges

in Slovakia, for example at the University of

Konstantin of Nitra, which is pedagogically

orientated . It is practically the biggest

university in Slovakia, where they train

teachers for all kind s of schools. Most interest

in consum er education is shown by stud entsof Politics and European Studies.

The interest in consum er edu cation in

Slovakia described above was greatly

supp orted by tw o international projects

du ring 1994 1996. The first project was

between ASC and th e German consumer

organisation Arbeitsgemeinschaft der

Verbraucherverbande (AgV).

Two p rofessional seminars on the su bject of

consumer edu cation w ere organised within

this p roject with AgV. Both sem inars w ere

international and were attended by

approximately 200 people, mostly teachers.

The greatest contribution of both seminars

was that they stimu lated the development of a

fairly large group of teachers clearly interested

in consumer ed ucation. In add ition to these

large international meetings, there were also

more sp ecialized seminars an d consultation

meetings. Teachers involved in these seminars

and meetings subsequently created

ped agogical materials.

The Nordic programme Consum er Edu cation

in Northern Countries Outline of the

Consum er Edu cation Aims at Primary an d

Seconda ry Schools was chosen as th e basis

for working out the prop osed syllabus for

Slovakia w hich follows below. The Nord ic

programme was regarded as particularly

useful because of its broad scope and detail.Our prop osals for teaching aids also draw on

expertise in francophone countries. Both the

syllabus an d the teaching aids are designed

for the conditions in the Slovak Republic.

It has not so far been possible to take

developm ent of the syllabus or teaching aids

further wh ich has greatly disapp ointed the

collective of authors which includes very

enthu siastic and experienced teachers. On the

other hand, through the work completed to

date, valuable know ledge, information, and

references have been gath ered for the future.

Also valuable are th e results of smaller

investigations with an interdisciplinary aim

(psychological, sociological, economical and

pedagogical). These sources and data will still

be relevant for u se in the near futu re.

The syllabus and prop osed teaching aids

given below are the results of the ASCsinvolvement in the consumer ed ucation

project und er PH ARE CICPP II. These texts

have been d eveloped over an 18-month p eriod

by ASC working w ith an international project


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28

team: Consumers International, Confederacin

de Consu midores y Esuarios of Spain, and the

Polish Consumers Federation. The project was

launched w ith an introductory consultation

between the project partners, then continued

on th e basis of on-going e-mail contact

between these organisations. ASC drafted the

syllabus and proposals for teaching aids, and

pu blished this version following commentary

by the p roject team. Background in formation

for the materials was gathered throughou t

the project period, in particular through

participation in an international consumer

education seminar in Santander, Spain and

throu gh research on activities in other

coun tries (Wales, France etc.)

This standard programme is the first step in

developing materials for consumer education

in schools. The au thors seek to build on this

organically to pu blish furth er.

Main contents of theprogramme

The programm e is sub-divided into the

following themes:

personal finances consumer rights and obligations

advertising and p ersuasion

environment and consump tion

food

safety

Teachers materials are needed for Slovakia

and other CEEs on each of these top ics. The

Polish Consum ers Federation w orkshop on

advertising is an examp le of such m aterials.

The next step for the authors collective which

designed this standard programme is to

pu blish such texts.

It will be possible to use these texts flexibly in

several curriculum subjects in p rimary an d

secondary schools. We do not envisage the

introduction of consum er edu cation as a

separate subject in the near future. Rather we

see the themes of consumer education as being

taught in various subjects, as appropr iate andrelevant eg hom e economics, environmental

studies etc. The proposed teaching aids seek to

allow the main questions of consumer education

to be draw n out un der the themes given above.

Drafts of syllabus andteaching aids for the themesof Consumer Education

The syllabus for primary schools is covered in

the first and second stage of the edu cation

system in Slovakia. The syllabus for second ary

schools however covers only one stage of the

edu cation system as organised in th e Slovak

Repub lic. This text includes th e aims, contents

and process of consum er edu cation

app ropriate for the Slovak system. We have

included separate texts for the different levels

of school. We conclude w ith som e final

remarks about th e syllabus and teaching aids.

Primary Schools

(1st Stage- 6-10 year olds)

Objectives of consumer education

Correct consumer knowledge, skills and

app roaches learnt from th e youngest age will

help p repare children for the role of consumer

and lay a strong foun dation for being an active

consumer in ad ult life.

The overall goal of providing a comp rehensive

consumer ed ucation is reached by achieving

the following ind ividual aims:

making p up ils familiar with basic

consumer terms;

providing basic information on the r ights

and obligations of consumers, to teach

pu pils to use consumer rights actively;

helping pu pils to realise the importance of

financial planning;

un derstand ing the importan ce of a balance

between the income and expenditure

of households;

developing abilities to observe and compare

prices and quality of produ cts and services, to

recognise and understand product labelling;

familiarising pupils with different sales

techniqu es and services, to teach th em h ow

to do simple shopping;

teaching pupils to understand the

differences between advertisement and

information;

providing p up ils with information onthe effect of their consumption on

the environment;

teaching pupils about eco-labelling,

providing information on recycling, to


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teach how to separate household w aste;

realising the existing threat to the

environment from ind ustry, agriculture,

transport and households;

teaching pupils skills to keep their

surroundings clean and tidy;

understanding the importance of diet

for health and quality of life;

developing th e ability to choose from the

range of available foodstuffs, to know how

to prep are a simple meal u sing a recipe;

developing the ability to store and u se

foodstu ffs safely;

teaching p up ils to realise the imp ortance

of their own safety, and the need to follow

safety measures at home, at school and

during leisure activities.

Contents of consumer education

It is appropr iate to teach th ese proposed

contents for consumer edu cation w ithin

several su bjects, especially natur al science,

math ematics, literature, essay wr iting and

art. The contents described above can be

includ ed un der several topic headings

as follows:

1 Personal finance

Household finance and budgetSavings

Pocket m oney

Methods of paym ent in cash, cheques, cards

Price comparisons

2 Consumer rights and obligations

Ways of selling and providing services

Consum er rights and obligations

Redress

Consumer advice

3 Advertisement and persuasion

Role of the media

Information and advertisement

The objectives and targets of advertisement

Fashion and fashion m akers

(This topic includes how images are created

for young people and the associated

responsibilities of image-makers)

Information and leisure through

electronic med ia

4 Consumption and environment

Coexistence of people and natu re,

protection of natu re

Effect of consump tion, waste and waste

packaging on environment

Recycling and eco-packaging, separated

waste collection

Responsibility for the environment

5 Diet

Recommended diets

Healthy and unhealthy eating habits

Hygiene and quality of foodstu ffs

Balanced d iets, d iet-related diseases

6 Safety

Produ ct safety and labelling,

instructions for use

Traffic safety and produ ct safety as an

important consumer right

Safety of leisure-time products and leisure-

time activities (eg p arks, recreational

equipm ent and toys for children)

Process of consumer education

The aims of consum er edu cation can be

achieved throu gh various teaching method s

and with active participation by pu pils,

especially using presentations, conversation,

discussion, p roblem-solving, d rama,

brainstorming and group w ork.

The main learning tools are concrete case

stud ies, which use pup ils know ledge of how

to behave in nature and society. Simple

creative tasks develop the p up ils ability to

think for themselves, teach pupils to express

their own op inions and to have an active

app roach to p roblems. It is advisable to make

as much u se as possible and ap prop riate of

modern audio-visual equipment.

Primary Schools(2nd Stage -10-15 year olds)


Consum er edu cation at the second stage of

primar y school builds on and develops the

consumer ed ucation taught in th e first stage.

It is aimed at d efining the role of consum er as

someone who obtains basic knowledge, skills

and app roaches to reasonable behaviour,

taking health and protection of environmentinto consideration.

Consum er edu cation at this stage concentrates

on th e following objectives:


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realising that the family is an economic

entity with planning, pu rchases and

payments, income and expenditure;

know ing how to d eal with personal finance,

teaching reasonable app roaches to p ersonal

and family consump tion of goods;

understanding employment, salaries and

allowances;

know ing ways of paym ent, savings

and loans;

realising that basic consum er rights are p art

of civil law and are stated within th e legal

system of our country ;

familiarisation with institutions d evoted to

consumer p rotection and learning about

their activities;

knowing how to work with the information

necessary for making a consum er d ecision;

analysing and critical evaluation of the

influence of advertisements and electronic

med ia (eg radio, TV);

realising that reasonable consumer choice

can positively influence the health of people

and the environment;

increasing p up ils self-confidence as

consumers w ho can bring th eir influence

to bear on man ufacturing to increase

production of ecologically friendly goods

and services through his/ her choice; know ing how to protect health through

healthy eating h abits;

know ing how to assess the safety of goods

and services;

increased aw areness of ones own safety.

Consum er edu cation at the second stage of

primar y schools is included within the

syllabus for citizenship lessons. In addition

the contents of consum er edu cation can be

included in: Slovak language, mathematics,

chemistry, ethics, geograph y, physics, natu ral

history, lessons on the w orld of work and the

arts. Ind ividual topics of consum er edu cation

can link these subjects with everyday life and

bring about a m arked increase in the pup ils

motivation and involvement in learning.


The contents of consumer edu cation can be

divided into the following topics:

1 Personal finance

Family finance, income and expenditure

Business and occupations

Forms of paym ent

Saving, insurance, loans

2 Consumer rights and obligations

Legislation on consumer protection

Consum er rights and obligations

Conscious consumer behaviour on

the market

Consum er organisations and their activities,

consumer ad vice


Role of the m edia in society

Advertisement and forming of life-styles

Electronic media and information services

Legislation regulating advertisement

4 Consumption and the environment

Exploitation of natural resources

Energy conservation, w aste treatments,

waste separation an d recycling

Ecological and non-ecological products and

basic services, labelling

5 Diet

Health as a basis for quality of life

Diseases related to d iet and life-style

Hygiene and food preparation

6 Safety

Safety of products and services

Drugs abuse and ad diction

Safety m easures and regulations


It is imp ortant that the app ropriate themes

of consum er edu cation are includ ed w ithin

ind ividu al subjects. Effective consum er

edu cation dep ends on teaching based on

suitable methods. The teaching m ethods m ust

encourage the p up ils to engage fully, and truly

acquire their ow n skills and habits, to prep are

pu pils for conscious consum er behaviour. This

requires the app lication of method s wh ich

activate and practise the pup ils learnt

know ledge and skills and allow them to

apply their own approaches and previous

experiences.

Pupils should be led towards thedevelopment of independent thinking,

deepening consumer aw areness and solving

day-to-day problems. The following methods

could be su itable:


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working w ith information sources

learning based on ow n experience

dramatisation

role play

group work

project work

discussion method s (panel d iscussions,

committees, symposium, forum ,

round table)

Experts can be invited for lessons, various

discussions can be held about concrete

consumer p roblems, and excursions to shops

or m anufacturers can be organised. The

teaching w ill be furth er enhanced by u se

of suitable aids (eg information catalogue,

packages, goods, ad vertisements, aud io-

visual equipment).

Secondary Schools(15- 19 year olds)

Consum er edu cation at secondary schools

further d evelops and completes the edu cation

provided in prim ary school. Democratic

society based on a market economy n eeds

active consum ers who un derstand their needs,

ensure their rights are secured and protect

their interests. The consumer wh o hasdeveloped awareness follows ethical

principles and chooses a life style which takes

into consideration su stainable d evelopm ent.

The topics selected for consumer education in

secondar y schools build on th e knowledge

acquired at pr imary school.


The overall aim of providing a comprehensive

consumer ed ucation as described above can be

reached th rough th e following ind ividual

objectives:

knowing the pr inciples of a market economy;

being able to plan a bu dget, income and

expenditure;

knowing the relationship between the

national economy and a household economy;

making u se of mod ern information systems

and know ing regulations on informationprotection;

knowing h ow to compare and be able

to choose goods and services, business

partners;

know ing basic types of taxes and their

importan ce for the country;

knowing methods of making p ayments,

loans, savings;

know ing how consum er law is enforced and

how to make u se of advice from consum er

organisations;

getting involved in grou ps and initiatives

devoted to p rotection of consumer interests;

realising th at the p ressure of offer of new

products leads to creation of useless waste;

being familiar with the possibilities of

consumers to contribute to the p rotection

of the environment through his/ her

behaviour;

understanding consumption as sensible

satisfaction of wants;

know ing the connection betw een

consump tion, leisure time and env ironment;

realising the connections between health

and quality of life;

know ing the connection between diet and

the environment;

know ing rules of hygiene and food storage;

protecting his/ her health, avoiding risks;

und erstanding information and produ ct

labelling;

know ing safety measures and ru les;

knowing how to handle dangerous products.


Consum er edu cation at second ary school level

builds on and d evelops further the consumer

edu cation at primar y level. It is included in

the syllabus for citizenship and ethics. In

secondary level vocational schools which

prepare pu pils for working in their own

business, trade and services, consum er

education should provide students with a

comprehensive view of both sides of the

consumer/ produ cer or seller p artnership.

Consum er edu cation can also be applied

and included in other general subjects on

the schools syllabus at secondary level.

The contents of consum er edu cation can

be d ivided into following topics:

1 Personal finance

Education, employmen t, sources of income

Household finances and budgetingSalaries and taxes

Ways of paymen t, savings and loans

Bonds and shares

Insurance companies and their services

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2 Rights and obligations

International consumer protection

Consum er law, rights and du ties

Consum er organisations

Consumer information and advice

Contracts, agreements and redress

Consumer behaviour on the market

Traps of games and contests


What is ad vertising?

Social and ecological consequences of

marketing

Legal rules and regulations covering

advertising

Media and the advertising industry

4 Consumption and the environment

Ethical consumption

Consum ption and w ater and energy

conservation

Scarcity of natu ral resources and recycling

Ecological production and labelling

Packaging an d prod uct lifetime

5 Diet

Nu trition and quality of life

Disease related to diet and lifestyle

Hygiene and storage of foodFood qu ality

Ecological eating habits

6 Safety

Produ ct and service safety

Safety measures

Instruction for use and maintenance

Hand ling d angerous prod ucts

Drugs and d rug ad diction


Successful consumer ed ucation depends to a

large extent on the sp ecific circumstances at

the schools, in part icular for example close

co-ordination between independ ent consumer

organisations and home economics teachers.

Appropriate teaching methods includ e indepen-

dent work, data collection and evaluation, case

studies, stimulating method s based on learning

through experience, discussion method s

(panels, symposium , committees, forum, roundtable), assertiveness training, problem solving

and developing p rojects. Also various activities

are recomm ended such as inviting gu est

speakers to schools and excursions.

Final remarks on the draft syllabus

The draft syllabus p resented here is only one

outcome of the activities by the project

author s. Other information gathered w ithin

the framework of their consumer ed ucation

work includ es for example the contributions

made d uring the seminars and other expert

events, translations, research, and surveys.

The draft syllabus for the Slovak Republic

draw s on foreign experience of consum er

education (especially that of the Nordic

countries). It also looks at the knowledge

we h ave gained in Slovakia from teaching

selected themes of consum er ed ucation.

We have sought to allow teachers space to

add ress particular p roblems of consum er

education when applying this proposed

syllabus.

The syllabuses will mainly be u sed in p rimary

schools and the lower an d h igher stages of

secondar y schools. (The issue of consum er

education at universities and colleges is being

dealt with beyond the framewor k of the

present project.) This development of draft

syllabuses has created a solid basis for taking

consumer ed ucation to the next stage. In its

present form it also represents a u sefulcontribution to consum er edu cation as it is

currently being taugh t in var ious schools in

the Slovak Repu blic.

Proposed teaching aidsfor implementation ofconsumer education

At p resent th ese proposed teaching aids exist

on p aper only in d raft form. The next stage

will be to develop them on a tr ial basis, then

if successful to g o ahead with pu blishing.

The idea is to create videotapes an d didactic

games or w ork sheets.

PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Type of teaching aid

Theme

Work sheets Personal abilities, job, unemployment;

Household economy and state budget;

Need s, wishes, lifestyle.


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Posters paintings

Product labelling;

Symbols of maintenance, quality

and certification;

Protection and safety mar ks.

Slides

Savings, interest rate, loans, leasing;

Cheques, credits cards;

Produ ct safety;

Rights and obligations of consumers.

Videotape

Informa tion society, change of p rofession;

Water, energy raw materials consum ption;

Ecological technologies and products;

Safety at w ork, du ring leisure time;

Nutrition habits, life-style related diseases;

Rational use of drugs (medication).

SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Type of teaching aid

Theme

Posters paintings

Household and state budget;

Production and service costs;

State bodies and organisations d evotedto consumer protection.

Slides

Work, contracts, agreements;

Banking institutions and services;

Cheques, credit cards, exchange rates;

Bond s, obligations, dep osit certificates;

Insurance compan ies and policies;

Consum er rights and obligations;

Marketing gu idelines, ethics of selling;

Safety rules and standard s.

Videotapes

Consum er society and sustainable

development;

Nu trition of pop ulation and ecological

balance;

Ecology in transport m ad agriculture;

Ecology of hou seholds and construction

of apartments;

Mass culture, commercialisation of wayof life;

Psychological and social consequences

Documents

Educating Tomorrow’s Consumers Today