An explication of a normative theory of social education is presented in this essay. Purposes for social education are suggested and their implications in terms of curriculum and instruction explored. The importance of this effort lies in a "need to know where we may be going in order to understand where we are." An axiom, normative assumptions, and derived implications are presented and discussed which the author considers to be a baseline conception of social education. The axiom is that "students are social actors engaged in purposive decision-making who process information in acquiring and acting upon normative and empirical beliefs about social phenomena." Normative assumptions are that social education should increase the ability of students to: 1) make socially effective choices; 2) assess systematically alternative social futures; and 3) to be continuous social learners. This approach to social education has been justified on the basis of explicitly stated values. This theory is open-ended in that others may wish to add, delete, or alter assumptions, and in that it may apply to learning situations not specified or anticipated. (Author/SJM)