“Storybook Savings” – Financial Education Redefined
- UM Research
- Dec 24, 2025
- 5 min read
Dr. Vandana Saxena
Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Area of Expertise
English Literature > Migration (south Asian Diaspora), Gender Studies (women's Literature, Biographies and Autobiographies)> South Asian Literature (memory and History, Postcolonial Literatures)
A Journey Into Literature
As a passionate reader and a student of literature, Dr. Vandana Saxena has been struck by how stories whether drawn from epic traditions, colonial histories, or contemporary fiction, carry the power to shape memory and identity. What began as a fascination with storytelling soon grew into a lifelong commitment to the humanities, literature in particular. She sees literature not merely as text, but as a repository of belonging, shared values, and shared histories.
Introducing Dr Vandana Saxena, a distinguished scholar of South and Southeast Asian literature, with a repertoire of published works in the domain of memory studies, gender, and postcolonial theory. Dr Saxena obtained a Bachelor's and Master's of Arts degree in English Literature (British and Commonwealth) from Delhi University, India, and later earned a PhD in English Literature from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Prior to Dr Saxena’s arrival at the University of Malaya in 2021 as an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, she had over 15 years of teaching and research experience honed across Southeast Asia, namely, Malaysia, Vietnam, and India, with a scholastic focus on literature and society, culture studies, memory and trauma studies of humanities and social sciences.
Dr Saxena holds multiple international memberships in the field of literature, notably the American Comparative Literature Association, the Modern Language Association, and serves as the Co-Chair of the Memory Studies Association of South Asia. She is the author of two books - “The Subversive Harry Potter” and “Memory and Nation-Building: World War II in Malaysian Literature”, published by Routledge, London, which explores how collective memories of the war shape Malaysian identity and narratives of nationhood.
Dr Saxena has extensive publications in prominent indexed journals such as WoS, ESCI, and Scopus. Notable works include the paper that explored the impact of technology on the inherent significance of cultural practices in her article publication in China Perspectives of 2024, “Digitalising Chinese New Year Red Packets: Changing Practices and Meanings”, which was also written with Dr Louis Augusti-Jean from the Department of Political Science, Public Administration and Development Studies, University of Malaya. This article interestingly depicted the traditional imperative of red packets or “hong bao” as a connector or a bridge to the values of filial piety, benevolence, familial and societal harmony, and e-hongbao gives the impression of an instantaneous economic transaction between two or more parties, thereby masking the true cultural importance of red packets in the Chinese New Year Festivities.
Dr Saxena actively engages in research projects that have been awarded international and local grants in her scholarly pursuits of the humanities. In 2023, she was awarded the ASEAN plus Mobility Grant under Ghent University in Belgium, as a Principal Investigator (PI) on “Women in Asian Literature, with Focus on Migration, Development and Post-Colonialism”. Under the University of Malaya, she was awarded with the University Grant in 2022-2023 for her research as a PI for “Using Post-Colonial Literature to Assess Development And Its Impact In Malaysia: A Study Of Chuah Guat Eng’s Novel”, 2024-2025 for “Storybook Savings: Empowering B40 Children with Financial Skills Through Children’s Literature”, and a currently ongoing grant for the study of “The Voice of the Subaltern: A Literary Study of Tamil Plantation Women Narratives”.
Storybook Savings: Empowering B40 Children with Financial Skills Through Children’s Literature
The betterment of society through the study of the humanities has been the core of Dr Saxena’s pursuits. In today’s economic climate, where attractive consumer products abound, unhealthy spending habits and poor financial management are increasingly visible, especially during the current inflationary era. Financial literacy, however, is not shaped in isolation, but is deeply reflected by the environment that shapes one’s perception of money. Yet, current literature and initiatives on increasing financial literacy are largely targeted towards youth transitioning into adulthood. Recognising the apparent gap, an early exposure to financial education among growing children is thus crucial in bridging economic disparities and fostering healthy perceptions towards the value of money.
This research project envisions the incredible use of visual arts and illustrations from children's picture books in instilling financial skills among young children aged 7 to 12. The research project piloted its initiatives in a three-stage process: (1) the identification of picture books as tools to teach financial literacy, (2) the analysis of the effectiveness of picture books, and (3) the promotion of the adoption of picture books among the B40 community.
To facilitate the success of this project, the research targeted children aged 7-12 years old from the B40 community in Malaysian public primary schools in Klang Valley, where semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were held with selected students to gauge the effectiveness of picture books in cultivating good financial habits. The results were positive as the children expressed greater financial awareness, with optimism as a potential tool to integrate financial literacy sessions into school curricula. Ultimately, this project was also promoted in the Star Newspaper to promote awareness of the importance of financial literacy among the B40 community, as well as gauge public interest in this initiative.
Ongoing Literary Pursuits
In the latest ongoing research project, “The Voice of the Subaltern: A Literary Study of Tamil Plantation Women Narratives”, which was awarded the University Grant of RM15,000, aims to document and preserve narratives of Tamil women’s plantation. The narratives provide an insight into their experiences of race, gender, and intersectionality as they lived the regimented lives in British Malayan rubber plantations. The project examines literary and archival texts to locate the forms of resistance and agency against colonial exploitation and patriarchal constraints that their narratives articulate.
Advice for Scholars
“Research with purpose and responsibility” – Dr. Vandana Saxena
At the heart of Dr. Saxena’s academic and personal journey lies the belief that knowledge must serve society. Her guiding motto above reflects her conviction that scholarship should extend beyond theory to bring about meaningful change. To aspiring researchers, Dr. Saxena emphasises that scholarship is never a solitary pursuit but a dialogue with texts, communities, and histories. She encourages young scholars to let their work be guided by empathy as much as by rigour, and to remain attentive to the larger human stories behind their research questions.
Source of image:
Maganathan, D. K. (2025, June). UM lecturers use picture books to teach children about money. Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved November 17, 2025, from https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2025/06/03/um-lecturers-use-picture-books-to-teach-children-about-money.
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Researcher featured:
Dr. Vandana Saxena
Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
For inquiries, please contact:
T: 03- 7967 3502
Author:
Ms Eng Pink Huey
Pink Huey is currently a final-year medical student at the Universiti Malaya. Outside clinical wards, her enthusiasm for writing and classical music drives her appreciation for the harmonious union of art and life. For a tinge of adrenaline, she enjoys hiking and chasing sunsets!
Copyedit:
Siti Farhana Bajunid Shakeeb Arsalaan Bajunid, Assistant Registrar, UM
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