The primary aim of global education in the elementary and secondary schools is to prepare students for responsible citizenship in a present and future global society. Global education is based on the propositions that the extent of interdependence in the contemporary world is such that we can speak of a global society, that students can be educated for responsible participation in a global society, and that the schools have the responsibility for educating citizens for this extended citizenship. World interdependence becomes obvious as decisions and actions by nations, non-governmental agencies, and individuals increasingly affect everyone. A variety of political, economic, and social units characterize the global age. The media, the volume of world trade, foreign investments, the existence of multi-national corporations, and the foreign tourist trade also typify a global world. The challenge to the social studies is to develop in students the capacity to perceive and understand the sources of differences, to identify long-term and global consequences of individual decisions, and to be sensitive to the interests of others in a transnational and transgenerational manner. Students must also develop the capacity to perceive alternative responses to situations and learn the skills of exercising influence in public affairs. Finally, the global education program must be responsive to the changing conditions of the world. (Author/KC)