This third edition of the "Standards for Academic and Professional Instruction in Foundations of Education, Educational Studies, and Educational Policy Studies" is presented to the educational community by the American Educational Studies Association's Committee on Academic Standards and Accreditation. The Standards were first developed and published in 1977-1978 by the American Educational Studies Association, and the Council of Learned Societies in Education (CLSE) assumed proprietorship and responsibility for dissemination and advocacy of the Standards following adoption of the document by each of its member societies in the early 1980s. In 1986, the original "Standards" were republished with a new introduction by CLSE and were widely circulated at colleges of education, state departments of education, and national accreditation agencies. In response to development in the field of teacher preparation, licensure, and assessment, the standards were revised, resulting in the publication of the second edition of the "Standards," published in 1996 by CLSE (now called the Council for Social Foundations). This third edition of the "Social Foundations Standards" aims to revitalize educators' commitment to empower future generations to confront and resolve the ecological, social, economic, and political challenges of the 21st century. (Contains 1 figure.)