Money Matters

IB MYP Community Project Capstone Yashodham High School • Mumbai

MONEY MATTERS: BRIDGING THE GENDER CONFIDENCE GAP

An inquiry-led community initiative empowering pre-teen girls with practical financial decision-making, budgeting trade-offs, and digital payment safety.

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Student Researcher: Anaya Deshmukh

Global Context: Fairness and Development

The High-Level Driving Question

"Why is financial risk-taking presented so differently based on gender, and why are young girls taught to save while boys are urged to build wealth?"

The 13th Birthday Catalyst Anecdote:

When Anaya opened her first bank account, her younger brother immediately demanded money from their parents to invest in Bitcoin. This revealed a stark societal pattern: girls are conditioned toward passive, risk-averse 'safety' (gold/silver), whereas boys are actively encouraged to take high-stakes risks.

The Core Reframe:

"It is not that girls cannot do math; it is that they do not feel money is their thing to deal with. Reach girls early. Give them the language of money before someone else does."

What is the IB Framework?

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) is a global educational framework designed to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people. Rather than relying on passive memorization, IB learning centers around conceptual understanding, real-world application, and intercultural open-mindedness.

Focus: Developing lifelong learners & critical thinkers.

What is the IB Community Project?

The Community Project is the capstone service-learning requirement of MYP Year 3/4. Students investigate an authentic local or global community need, plan a structured 15+ hour service intervention, take adaptive action, and evaluate their impact through four rigorous criteria: Investigating, Planning, Taking Action, and Reflecting.

Goal: Service as Action under Global Contexts.

Explore Project Materials & Modules

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Criterion A: Investigating

MYP Community Project • Stage 1

Defining the Goal & Investigation

01 / 04

The Catalyst Story 13th Birthday Spark

A Confidence Gap, Not a Knowledge Gap

"On my 13th birthday, I opened my first bank account and noticed something the room was not saying. Elders routed my younger brother into talk of Bitcoin, the stock market, and high-stakes investing. I was told only to save. The initial diagnosis looked like a knowledge gap. Research and baseline survey proved it was confidence."

The Core Reframe

"The problem is not that girls cannot do math. It is that they do not feel money is their thing to deal with. Reach girls early. Give them the language of money before someone else does."

Primary Baseline Survey

Grades 6–8 girls at Yashodham High School prior to intervention:

Felt only 'somewhat confident' managing daily funds 54%

Received prior guidance on HOW to invest 41%

Engaged safely with digital payment/UPI apps 06%

Secondary Research Context

OECD & RBI reports confirm practical finance is missing in school curricula, leaving young girls vulnerable to digital UPI scams and social conditioning that frames finance as 'complex'.

Anaya Deshmukh • Yashodham High School Criterion A: Investigation

MYP Community Project • Stage 2

Planning & Stakeholder Architecture

02 / 04

Stakeholder Consultations

GAET Educational Trust Guidance

Interview on 8 January 2026 with Trust Leadership:

Ms. Sunita Goenka (Chairwoman)

"Financial literacy is something schools consistently fail to teach well and for girls especially, it's almost completely absent."

Ms. Usha Raina (Trustee)

"Girls must hear words like portfolio, return, and compound growth in a safe, non-judgemental setting — vocabulary as confidence."

Core Planning Principle: "Lead with empowerment and vocabulary, not abstract literacy. Make conversation, not lecture."

The 6-Week / 15-Hour Curriculum Arc Grades 6–8

S1 • 17 JAN Money & Mindsets

S2 • 24 JAN Foundations

S3 • 31 JAN Needs vs. Wants

S4 • 07 FEB Budgeting Basics

S5 • 14 FEB Intro to Investing

S6 • 21 FEB Digital Safety

Plan Operational Rule

"Plan the structure. Reserve the right to rewrite everything by Saturday afternoon."

GAET Approved Proposal • Saturday Cohorts Criterion B: Planning

MYP Community Project • Stage 3

Taking Action & Adaptive Facilitation

03 / 04

The Minute-Five Reality Check

The school had assured Anaya that students had basic background knowledge. Five minutes into Session 1, no student had ever heard the term 'financial literacy'. The slide deck was abandoned instantly. Every session was subsequently rewritten around real needs.

Three Moments That Changed The Work

S1 • 17 Jan

The Miscommunication: Zero baseline definitions. Slides dropped at minute five. Key lesson: How to change plans on the spot.

S4 • 07 Feb

The Breakthrough: Budget splits exercise. A girl who had not spoken in prior weeks entered an intense debate defending her savings trade-offs.

S6 • 21 Feb

Outward Spread: A student shared that she helped her mother split their household budget and taught her grandmother about needs, wants, and grey zones.

Session 5 Gold Price Pivot: When stocks felt abstract, Anaya pivoted to skyrocketing gold/silver prices students overheard at home, using a 'planting a seed' growth analogy.

"The plan failed in five minutes. The work began in the sixth."

15 Hours Facilitation • Yashodham Middle School Criterion C: Taking Action

MYP Community Project • Stage 4

Reflecting & Objective Verification

04 / 04

Objective Success Criteria Evaluation

Educational Reach & Structure 100% Target Met

All 6 modules delivered (budgeting, saving, investing, digital safety) across 15 total hours.

Confidence & Concept Mastery 92% Target Met (Exceeded)

Post-survey: 92% felt confident explaining complex terms like compound growth and portfolios.

Adaptability & Feedback Loops 100% Target Met

Continuous session adjustments openly acknowledged and integrated in response to student pace.

Official Verification

Yashodham High School

Verified: 28 February 2026

"The programme measured a tangible shift in students' willingness to discuss financial goals and their confidence in daily decision-making."

— Ms. Anuranjani Sikka, Vice Principal

Core Personal Growth

"From rigid plan-follower to responsive facilitator. Service is not the execution of a plan; it is the continuous adaptation of one."

Final MYP Criterion Evaluation • MMXXVI Criterion D: Reflection

Interactive Activity Simulator

Pocket Money & Mindset Allocator

Simulate Session 4's budgeting exercise: allocate ₹1,000 allowance to test financial trade-offs.

Needs (School, Transport) ₹400

Wants (Snacks, Outings) ₹300

Savings (Emergency Fund) ₹200

Gold / Seed Growth ₹100

Total Allocation: ₹1,000 / ₹1,000

Cohort Mindset Feedback

Balanced Allocation

Healthy distribution! You covered needs while allocating to savings and seed growth—reflecting Session 4's breakthrough target.

Key takeaway from Session 4: "Needs keep you safe today, investments build your tomorrow."

Presentation Slide Deck

Interactive 12-slide presentation deck with presenter cue notes

Slide 1 / 12

Slide 01 Global Context: Fairness & Development

Presenter Cue Note Anaya Deshmukh • Yashodham High School

Full Project Portfolio Board Yashodham High School, Mumbai

Building Financial Literacy & Confidence in Pre-Teen Girls

Presenter: Anaya Deshmukh

Global Context: Fairness and Development

Criterion A

Investigating

Diagnosed confidence gap over knowledge gap. Baseline survey: 54% lacked fund confidence; only 6% used digital apps.

"Give girls the language of money before someone else does."

Criterion B

Planning

GAET Trust Consultation (Goenka & Raina): vocabulary as confidence. Designed 6-week / 15-hour curriculum arc.

"Reserve the right to rewrite everything by Saturday afternoon."

Criterion C

Taking Action

Minute-5 pivot: slides dropped when students had no baseline terms. Pivot to real pocket money discussions & gold surge news.

"The plan failed in 5 minutes. The work began in the 6th."

Criterion D

Reflecting

100% reach & 92% concept mastery achieved. Endorsed by Vice Principal Ms. Anuranjani Sikka.

"Service is the continuous adaptation of a plan."

MONEY MATTERS