Because earlier research suggests that children's and adolescents' achievement motivation is mediated by their implicit beliefs and theories about schooling, 70 students (half girls and half boys) in a middle class suburban school district in grades 3 through 12 were interviewed about several dimensions of knowledge about education, including reasons for schooling, conditions of learning, conceptions of intelligence, and curriculum objectives. Interviews followed a standard open-ended format, and after responding to each question, students were encouraged to elaborate and present reasons for their views. Findings revealed both increasing linear and nonlinear developmental trends. Students' ability to conceive of learners as active participants rather than passive recipients increased progressively with age, as did their valuing of nontraditional educational objectives such as art and music. Compared with students in the middle grades, older and younger students believed more strongly in the intrinsic value of education and in the value of metaeducational objectives such as learning to learn, and less strongly in the modifiability of intelligence through effort. The results suggest that children initially form a naive personalistic orientation toward education, which is rejected in early adolescence in favor of a practical, societal orientation; and that older adolescents adopt an orientation that coordinates both personalistic and societal perspectives. (Author/HOD)