Responses to the 1976 Gallup education poll were analyzed to test the hypothesis that educational beliefs held by lay citizens are systematically structured and may be ordered along several dimensions representing functions of education: utilitarian concerns, socialization concerns, and concerns with academic and individual needs. Further, the study explores the relationship between specific educational beliefs and the respondents' residential location (rural, suburban, or urban) and two of their social status characteristics--educational attainment and rating of the public schools. The data comprise the answers of 1,549 persons to 24 questions on the functions and goals of public education. The research uses principal-factoring analysis with iteration, and five components are retained for orthogonal rotation. The results confirm that educational belief systems are multidimensional and associated with the functions of education. While belief patterns regarding the utilitarian and individual needs functions vary with the education, type of community, and satisfaction with public schools of respondents, the socialization and academic achievement functions are concerns of citizens regardless of social status characteristics and residential location. This degree of consensus among socioeconomic groups might provide a common denominator for adapting the school system to citizens' goals. Appendixes show communalities and factor loadings. (MJL)