The document views citizenship education from the perspectives of the past and present and offers recommendations for improving citizenship education programs. The document is presented in three chapters, preceeded by an introductory essay highlighting major developments in citizenship education in the United States since the colonial period. Chapter I focuses on the challenges of citizen education today. The major challenge is developing citizen competence. Major considerations of citizenship education are described, including increasing social complexity, global interdependence, and conflicting interpretations of the subject area. Chapter II reviews the level of desired civic competency and provides illustrations of representative programs in schools, media, government, labor, religious organizations, and business. Chapter III reviews findings from research on citizenship education and offers recommendations to improve citizenship education programs. It is recommended that citizenship education programs will improve if the federal government and local communities convene commissions on citizen education. These commissions should involve members of the research community and representatives of a wide cross section of American society. Commission members would be responsibile for developing criteria and for clarifying educational frameworks and objectives for citizenship education programs. (DB)