I intend to identify some of the important propositions which issue from fourteen empirical studies on political socialization, and to point to implications for schools and especially civic education programs. I define political socialization as the process of acquiring and changing the culture of one's own political environment. Among the propositions are: 1) statements of goals on citizenship objectives for schools are not consistent with social and political realities; 2) the major influence that the school has is to reinforce notions of allegiance and responsibility to the government; 3) schools do not provide political skills needed to participate effectively in political life; 4) the impact of the civics curriculum on political socialization is appreciable when social issues are focal and when they are discussed in the spirit of inquiry. (The paper discusses additional propositions.) Several needed changes emerge: 1) participation in decision making by faculty and students needs to be promoted at the levels of school governance and in formal instruction; 2) pressing social issues need to be dealt with explicitly and honestly; 3) programs in civics and history need to be drastically revamped to stress the skills of inquiry. (Author/JLB)