The organization and argument of this paper on the status of economic education in American schools today are essentially summarized in four observations. They are that: (1) the current emphasis of economic education is overwhelmingly cognitive and focuses on increasing student knowledge and understanding of our economic system; (2) available evidence on the impact of cognitively oriented approaches to economic education suggests that they have no educationally significant influence on students' economic related attitudes, values, norms, dispositions, etc.; (3) it is increasingly apparent that attitudes and dispositions related to economic life are of importance to personal economic success, system maintenance, and vitality; and (4) if the above observations are correct, then one may conclude that there is a gaping hole at the heart of economic education that needs concerned attention. The body of the paper develops these points, suggests four interpretations regarding the significance of attitude changes resulting from economics curricula, and proposes two goals of economic education, one personal and one social. The paper concludes by presenting perspectives for understanding the dynamics of normative economic socialization in schools and discusses their implications in regard to the importance of an attitudinal dimension in the planning of curricula. References are included. (TRS)