In this article, the author presents an appraisal of the two contending perspectives on political scientists' approach to citizenship education in social studies: John Dewey's critique of political scientists' vision of citizenship education and a consideration of the educational implications of the APSA's activities in precollegiate citizenship education programs. The first argument presents a sanguine view of political scientists' contributions, suggesting that political scientists promoted the teaching of government in schools to prepare good citizens. The second argument questions the compatibility of political science and citizenship education. Proponents of the second argument contend that because the intellectual mission of political science has been essentially limited to academic and empirical research, it is not feasible for its practitioners to achieve any beneficial results in a normative activity such as citizenship education, which includes the teaching of democratic values and issues of cultural pluralism, human rights, and civic participation skills.