The purpose of this study is to explore the cognition of national defense education among students of general/vocational senior high schools or above in southern Taiwan. The theoretical basis for this study is explored with a review of the relevant literature. From this, the research framework and tools are established and designed respectively. Stratified random sampling is adopted with students of general/vocational senior high schools or above in southern Taiwan as the research subjects. A total of 600 questionnaires were issued and 568 valid copies were collected, reaching a return rate of 95%. The data of valid questionnaires are analyzed via Independent Samples t-test and One-Way ANOVA. After data processing and analysis, the results are as follows: I. Students of general/vocational senior high schools or above in southern Taiwan have a medium-upper level of cognition with respect to national defense education. II. General/vocational senior high school or above level students in southern Taiwan are significantly different in their cognition with respect to national defense education due to variables in their personal backgrounds. 1. Male students have a significantly perceive the aspects and overall concepts of national defense education better than female students. 2. Students of public schools have stronger ¡§cognitions¡¨ and ¡§attitudes¡¨ concerning national defense education and perceive the overall concepts of national defense education better than those of private schools. 3. Students of general/vocational senior high schools show stronger ¡§cognition¡¨ towards national defense education than college/university students; students of vocational senior high schools show stronger ¡§cognition concerning the overall national defense education¡¨ than vocational college/university students. 4. Students who have joined national defense education related activities two or three times show a stronger ¡§attitude¡¨ than those joining related activities no more than once. 5. Students attend school in Tainan city show stronger ¡§behavior,¡¨ ¡§cognition,¡¨ and ¡§cognition concerning overall national defense education¡¨ than those who attend school in Kaohsiung city.

「全民國防」不僅是一種戰略、一種公民教育，也是全方位、全民參與及全民防衛的國防，從國家安全共識的整合、戰略文化的建立，均有賴全民國防理念的推廣。我國全民國防的實施，在執行架構上具有三個核心，即以憲政建設為基礎、以經濟建設為後盾、以心理建設為動力；此外，我國全民國防具備五個特色：一、從「人」來看：沒有軍人與非軍人的區別；二、從「事」來看：沒有戰爭與非戰爭的區別；三、從「時」來看：沒有戰時與非戰時的區別；四、從「地」來看：沒有戰場與非戰場的區別；五、從「物」來看：沒有武器與非武器的區別。結合以上全民國防三個核心觀念及特色，即能建構共同的全民國防意識。 作為一個以「國家安全」為主體的國防通識教育，面臨國際情勢的變遷及中共的武力威脅，勢必需要有一個新的面貌呈現。全民國防戰略層次中之國防通識教育，旨在培養兼具國防共識與國防知能的「國防人」，且要能結合學校的學術發展，配合各項國家安全需要，充實國防力量，完成全民國防之理想。從國防通識教育與國家安全、全民精神總動員、國防人力資源的建構、國防科技等層面，我們了解國防通識教育在國家總體戰略上的重要性；由國防通識教育落實全民國防理念、培育學校學生品德教育、精神教育及學校「青年動員服勤計畫」的推展執行，不難發現國防通識教育在「全民國防」中扮演的角色與功能。 / “National Defense for All the People” is not only a strategy, a kind of civic education, but also one which requires the participation and defense of all the people. The promotion of national defense concept is what matters the most from the conformity of national security recognition to the establishment of strategic culture. The implementation of national defense in our country has three cores on the execution construction: the constitutional construction as the foundation, the economic development as the backup, and the psychological construction as the power. In addition, there are five characteristics in our country’s national defense: 1.From "the people" – It does not have the difference between soldiers and non-soldiers. 2.From "the matter" – It does not have the difference between war and non-war. 3.From "the time" – It does not have the difference between wartime and non-wartime. 4.From "the place" – It does not have the difference between battlefield and non-battlefield. 5.From "the object" – It does not have the difference between weapon and non-weapon. If we combine the three cores and the characteristics of our national defense, we can construct the national defense consciousness among all people. As a general education in national defense based on national security, in the face of international circumstance vicissitude and Chinese Communist Party's threat in force, it inevitably will need some new appearance to be presented. The general education in national defense in terms of national defense strategy level is to cultivate the “National Defense People,” who possess both national defense recognition and national defense knowledge in addition to uniting the academic development in the schools, coordinating every need of national security, fulfilling the capability in national defense, and completing the ideal of national defense for all people. From the dimensions of constructing general education in national defense with national security, total mobilization of all the people, construction of the national defense human resources, and national defense science and technology, we realize the importance of general education in national defense in terms of our national overall strategy. The role and function of the general education in national defense performed in "national defense for all the people" are not hard to find among the realization of the general education for all the people, the cultivation of school students’ moral education and character guidance, along with the promotion and execution of “Service and Mobilization of the Youth.”