Education should help students engage in intelligent action. In spite of considerable rhetoric on this topic, the relationship between action and education has not been closely examined in statements of educational aims, in designs for curriculum, in the daily experience of students, or in teacher education programs. This book builds a conception of education for competent action in one area of human concern--public affairs. It is deliberately written for a variety of readers: social studies educators; university students and faculty; administrators; persons with interests in alternative schools, experiential education, student volunteer programs, or the general topic of community involvement; and anyone interested in helping public education take a more vigorous part in improving the system of consent of the governed in the United States. The book's purpose is to offer a systematic rationale for exerting influence in public affairs as a central priority in secondary schools, to outline a general conception of student competencies implied by this goal, and to anticipate issues in the program and environment of secondary schools that must be faced if the proposed curriculum were to be implemented. Details of actual curriculums, successful teaching strategies, or evaluation devices are not included. (Author)