A national survey, sponsored by the National Institute of Education and undertaken by the National Center for Research in Vocational Education, focused on ascertaining the school's role in teaching competencies related to good consumer practice. Questions concerning where such competencies should be taught and where they are actually learned were asked of the general adult public in face-to-face interviews. In the public's opinion, competencies pertaining to consumer power, money management, and consumer finance were the shared responsibilities of the home, school, and individual. Where these competencies were actually learned, however, was not necessarily where the public perceived that they should be taught. For the most part, consumer economic competencies were perceived to be self-taught. (Appendixes contain survey information, including survey questions and competencies for both consumer economics and occupational adaptability.) (YLB)