{"id":34369,"date":"2026-04-09T12:00:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T04:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/?p=34369"},"modified":"2025-02-05T10:14:24","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T02:14:24","slug":"financial-capability-training-for-social-workers-in-singapore-towards-more-effective-practice-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/2026\/04\/09\/financial-capability-training-for-social-workers-in-singapore-towards-more-effective-practice-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Financial capability training for social workers in Singapore: Towards more effective practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Singapore, the landscape of financial capability is increasingly critical, especially for low-income individuals and families grappling with overwhelming debt. As financial institutions and markets evolve, the complexities of managing finances have intensified, leaving vulnerable populations at a greater risk of financial instability. Oftentimes, social workers assigned to assist financially vulnerable individuals lack adequate training in financial matters.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In \u2018Financial capability training for social workers in Singapore: Towards more effective practice\u2019 (<\/span>International Social Work<\/span><\/i>, 2023), V Deepa (NUS Next Age Institute), Associate Professor Corinne Ghoh (NUS Social Work), and Margaret Sherraden (Washington University in St. Louis) explore the development and pilot testing of a comprehensive financial capability curriculum tailored for social work education.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The curriculum aims to improve the financial well-being of vulnerable families by building on financial capability theory, a concept that combines a person\u2019s ability to act (financial knowledge and skills) with their opportunity to act (inclusion) in ways that improve financial functioning and financial wellbeing. Through focus group (FG) discussions conducted in two phases, the researchers gathered feedback from social workers to gain an in-depth understanding of the curriculum’s strengths and limitations. The FG discussions allowed trainees to provide suggestions for enhancements, which were instrumental in further refining the curriculum.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The researchers found that while social workers understood the relevance of financial capability training, many felt unprepared to address the complex financial challenges their clients faced.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Merely imparting financial management concepts was insufficient. Instead, a nuanced understanding of the systemic issues affecting low-income families would allow for a more effective integration of financial capability into practice. Moreover, the study revealed that social workers should be actively engaged in advocacy and community-level interventions, as many financial challenges cannot be resolved at the individual level alone.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As Singapore grapples with persistent financial inequality, it becomes increasingly crucial to equip social workers with the skills necessary to effectively tackle these challenges. A comprehensive and well-structured training program empowers social workers, enhancing their confidence and competence in serving their communities. This, in turn, ensures that financial stability and well-being are attainable for all Singaporeans, ultimately fostering a more equitable society.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read the article <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo: iStock\/bankrx<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Singapore, the landscape of financial capability is increasingly critical, especially for low-income individuals and families grappling with overwhelming debt. As financial institutions and markets evolve, the complexities of managing finances have intensified, leaving vulnerable populations at a greater risk of financial instability. Oftentimes, social workers assigned to assist financially vulnerable individuals lack adequate training […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311,"featured_media":34370,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4529,4606,4609,4544,4604],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-research","category-singapore-research-nexus","category-social-work","category-visible"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/311"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34369"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34435,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34369\/revisions\/34435"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/srn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}